Growing up
by son-goku5
Summary: Set after season 3. Mike and Eleven live far apart now but nothing can stop them from loving each other. Well, I suck at summaries, so this is my take on Season 4 Mostly a Mileven story, but others show up as well. Rated M for smut beginning in later chapters - Chapter 29 up.
1. Chapter 1

**You know, up until a few weeks ago, I never heard of Stranger Things. Okay, that was a lie, I heard about it fleetingly but it was never on my radar. Then I kept seeing the ads on various fandom sites and links that gushed over the upcoming third season so I got curious and decided to watch it.**

**22 hours later, I had finished binge-ing all three seasons and I was hooked (and tired).**

**I never really was a shipper. I never care when a show puts to characters together and we as viewers should care just because they are, except when the two characters in question display the chemistry that allows the pairing. And I was mesmerized by the chemistry shown by Finn Wolfhard and Millie Bobby Brown. For such young actors, they play the couple in love amazingly (especially episode 1 of season 3 and the end of episode 4 of season 3 right after the Sauna fight)**

**So, I decided to put my meager writing skills to this since a particular case of writer's block makes it impossible for me to write for my other stories.**

**This is going to be a Mileven story, set after season 3. Just my take on what I hope Season 4 will look like.**

**I'll rate this T for now, but I may have to change it to M later, depending on how explicit I will be with my descriptions. And of course, depending on the reaction of the readers ;)**

**Also, I'm German so if you find a typo here or there, ignore it ^^**

**So, without further ado, enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I write for my own pleasure and that of the readers.**

* * *

"Hey guys!" Joyce greeted the group as they piled into the house she had rented in their new home town, hugging each of them in turn.

"Hi, Misses Byers." Nancy greeted back for the others, the guys and other girl already moving inside in search of their friends.

"Byers!" Dustin and Lucas shout in unison, seeing the smaller boy exiting his room and enveloping him in crushing bear hugs.

"Guys, where's Mike?" Joyce asked.

"He's bringing the luggage." Dustin waved her off.

"Okay, who decided that I was the designated carrier for everyone's stuff?" Mike puffed as he entered the house, dropping half a dozen suitcases and bags.

"Ever since you turned into Arnold Schwarzenegger." Lucas grinned.

"He didn't have to carry everything on his own." Jonathan chuckled, putting down a single suitcase.

"Wow, Mike, you... changed." Joyce looked up at the young man, now even taller than he was when they left Hawkins.

"I took up swimming." Mike said as explanation for his transformation.

"He basically lives at the pool three days a week." Dustin scoffed. "Sometimes four."

"Only after school. And maybe you should..." Mike started a retort directed at Dustin but was cut short by the appearance of the one woman he has come to see.

"Mike." El whispered, a smile forming on her face.

He didn't say anything, he just took three big steps forward and wrapped his arms around her body, pressing her lips against hers. Eleven was shocked at this sudden contact for only a second, then her body responded to his presence. He was even taller than the last time she had seen him, when they had said their tearful goodbyes and his arms looked bigger too.

His increased strength was confirmed when he lifted her off her feet, his arms easily holding her up while he kissed her as if his life depended on it. And when the minute mark was passed, El felt as if she would truly die as soon as he stopped kissing her. To support herself, she wrapped her legs around his waist, an action that caused their friends to hoot and holler.

"Get a room!" Dustin yelled laughing.

"Get a girl!" Mike shouted back, laughing and letting El back down.

"Okay, that was uncalled for." Dustin huffed. "You know my girl is in Utah."

"Can you really call that a girlfriend?" Lucas asked. "You can never see her. You said it yourself, her parents would never allow it."

"A man can dream." Dustin shrugged.

"A dreaming man who built a bitchin' radio tower for his best friend." Max giggled.

"You got your own radio tower?" El smiled at Mike, her arm linked through his.

"He was hogging my Cerebro." Dustin wiggled an accusing finger at Mike. "I almost missed one of my weekly radio dates with Suzie because he kept talking to you. I had to pull the battery for him to stop."

"Is that why you cut out in the middle of your sentence that one time?" El laughed.

"Yeah." Mike nodded.

"So I built him his own tower and we installed it on his roof." Dustin finished. "And that pisses me off even more."

"Why?" El asked.

"Because he must be the luckiest guy in the world!" Dustin huffed.

"Don't I know it." he grinned, pressing a kiss against El's temple, who giggled and hugged him even fiercer, stepping in front of him so he could wrap his arms around her.

"I have to go to Weathertop to talk to my girlfriend. I have to sit there, in the open, even when it's raining. And I build the same thing on Mike's roof and even with the trees behind his house, he gets a clear signal to you."

"Maybe because this place is closer to Hawkins than Utah?" El suggested.

"Probably." Dustin sighed. "Still stinks."

"I offered you to help build a new Cerebro at your house." Mike said.

"Yeah, as if my mother would ever allow that." Dustin scoffed. "And you probably would do more harm than good if you helped me. Probably break some delicate piece of technology by accident with your new muscles."

"You act as if I spend all day crushing coconuts with my bare hands." Mike laughed.

"Boys!" Joyce interjected. "How about we take care of the sleeping arrangements before you continue this argument? I still have a shopping list to prepare for the Thanksgiving dinner in two days."

"Yes, Misses Byers." the boys said in unison.

"So, Nancy will stay with Jonathan in his room and Mike can stay in Jane's room. Lucas, Max, if you want to stay in a room together, I'll offer you the guest room, though it's not that big. Dustin would have to sleep in Will's room." Joyce told them.

"You'd let Mike stay in El's room?" Dustin asked.

"I doubt I could prevent it." Joyce chuckled. "If I put him with you guys, he'll simply sneak into her room or she crawls into his sleeping bag."

"Highly likely." Dustin agreed and the grin on Eleven's face told him the rest.

"But, you guys, no funny business." Joyce warned them before she went into the kitchen.

"Of course, Misses Byers." Mike nodded, ever the gentleman.

"Why does she call you Jane and not El, like the rest of us?" Lucas wondered.

"She does it because it's the name listed on the birth certificate." Will explained. "And by calling her Jane, we have less risk of calling her El or Eleven when others could hear us and wonder why."

"So, what are we doing tonight?" Lucas asked, accepting the explanation. "Movies?"

"Well, I brought this." Mike smiled and pulled out the newest Dungeons and Dragons campaign book.

"You want to play D&D?" Will asked excited and skipped into the dining area where the biggest table in the house was located.

"Yeah, of course." Mike nodded, the group following. "I remembered how disappointed you were when the rest of us got too busy with our relationships, so we wanted to remedy that."

"It's true." Dustin said and Lucas nodded.

"It's a campaign set for four to six people, level nine and should take between ten and twenty hours."

"That short?" Will moped.

"Short?" Max gasped.

"I didn't want to take a longer one since we can't play every week anymore." Mike shrugged, ignoring Max's gasp as if twenty hours of playing was normal. "I mean, we could play and then keep our progress until we meet again on Christmas but I don't want to risk anyone losing something or forgetting where we were."

"El, you wanna play with them or do girl stuff?" Max asked.

"Max, you rarely do 'girl stuff'." El air-quoted.

"She's just annoyed because she doesn't have a real character." Lucas grinned.

"Hey, I'm the zoomer." she hit his arm.

"Which doesn't exist." Mike smiled.

"Yeah yeah, why don't you make more tea for Morticia and Gomez." Max huffed.

"Come on, seriously?" Mike groaned.

"What does that mean?" El wanted to know.

"Some people in school have started calling him Lurch because of his height." Max grinned, then saw El's confused face. "He's the butler from the Adams family."

"I'm not even that tall." Mike argued. "There are some taller than me."

"Dude, you're like over six feet tall, that's huge." Dustin added.

"What was my character?" El asked, bringing their talk back to the game.

"You're the mage." Mike told her, thankful.

"I thought Will was your mage."

"He used to be before we met you, but now Will is the Cleric, the most important member of the party." Mike corrected.

"Really?" Will perked up, touched by the sentiment.

"Of course." Mike nodded. "If I weren't there, you could still do campaigns, since you have a Ranger to fight, even though it would be harder. Without the Ranger, you'd still have the Bard for some the same things. Without the Bard, nothing would change much..."

"Thanks dude." Dustin deadpanned, to the laughter of the group.

"Just kidding, without the Bard, we'd have it more difficult with the diplomatic solutions and we'd lack some auras." Mike smiled. "Without a mage, we can still have some magic use in the party but without a Cleric, we would die quickly or get poor because we'd have to buy tons of healing potions."

"What about me?" Max asked.

"Since you can't define your character class, I don't know if your absence would make an impact." Mike shrugged. "What are your defining abilities?"

"I can move forward quickly to kill the enemies." Max said.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Lucas grinned at Mike and Dustin, who nodded.

"What?" Max looked at them, seeing Mike grin.

"Jaezred Chaulssin." Mike grinned with them, Dustin and Lucas nodding vigorously.

"What is that?" El wanted to know.

"Drow assassins." Dustin grinned. "We could add that her character had some sorcerer training, so she can do the shadow walk and that she was banned from the Underdark."

"What is a shadow walk?" Max asked.

"Uh... well, enter the shadow realm as a shortcut to..." Lucas started.

"You zoom back and forth." Dustin interrupted him.

"Oh, okay." Max nodded, mollified.

"Alright, lets do this." Will said excitedly and the group sat down.

"The party is sitting in the inn, Will the wise stroking his beard as they listened to the story of the female mage who had approached them." Mike started the narration. "She told of a new danger threatening the world, an invasion from the Underdark and their demon allies. But she also says that the alliance between the Drow and the demons can be thwarted because the demons want an ancient artifact as payment and if they could get it before them and destroy it, the crisis could be averted."

"Wait, if you four are the party and El is supposedly the mage sitting with you, where am I?" Max interrupted.

"Don't worry, I'm not forgetting you." Mike chuckled.

"The party moved out, using the daylight to travel as many miles as possible. As usual, the paladin led the way while the Ranger kept his senses alert for threats and the Bard sang songs to strengthen his companions' endurance and mood. To their surprise, the petite mage kept up without problems, possibly using a spell of her own to lend her strength." Mike continued the story, receiving a smile and a kiss on the cheek from his girlfriend. "When the sun began setting, Lucas found a place for them to make camp, the party and their mage companion settling down. The Paladin decided on first watch, Lucas agreed to second watch and Dustin the third."

"What about me?" El asked.

"When we play, we usually let the magic users sleep through the night because it takes eight hours of uninterrupted rest to regain spells." Mike explained.

"Okay." El nodded.

"Is something happening during the night?" Dustin asked.

"Lets roll." Mike said and rolled some dice. "First watch ... nothing. Second watch... Lucas's ears perk up when he hears something too big to be an animal cropping through the brush around them."

"I shout a challenge and use my elven eyes to find the stranger." Lucas announced.

"Roll it." Mike nodded and Lucas rolled an eighteen.

"You find the source of the disturbance." Mike narrated. "It turns out that it's a member of the race that the mage said would be attacking the Overworld soon. She closes in but tries to stay as far away from the light of the fire, her sensitive eyes unused to light. Lucas wakes his companions who jump up when they see the intruder."

"That's me?" Max asked.

"Yes." Mike nodded. "The new arrival told a story of deceit and betrayal, how she left her native home of Chaulssin, the city of Wyrmshadows because she couldn't stand her ruling elite's slow progress in fighting the Drow who still worship their god Lolth. And after hearing about the planned invasion of the overworld, to damage their cause even more, she wanted to stop it by destroying the artifact that the demons desired, even when it means forming an alliance with topworlders."

"What do we do about her traveling with us?" Dustin asked. "As a Drow, she is very sensitive to light, isn't she?"

"Yes, she has to walk around with her cowl drawn down her head to avoid light." Mike nodded. "When we reach the next large town, we're going to have to check if we can buy an artifact or something that could fix that."

"You mean sunglasses?" Max asked.

"There are no sunglasses in Dungeons and Dragons." Lucas huffed.

"Sorry." Max smirked at him, rolling her eyes.

The group played the campaign Mike had bought and planned out for the next three hours until they had to take a break due to most of them needing to use the toilet. After everyone had their turn, they grabbed some of the snacks that they had laid out on a smaller table next to the big one, Lucas bringing a bowl where Max poured a bag of potato chips into.

El grabbed and ate one, taking a second which she held over Mikes head, the latter leaning back so El could put it into his mouth, smiling at the man she loved as he winked at her. The toaster spit out its content and El grabbed the two Eggo waffles, sprinkling both with powdered sugar and handing one on a plate to Mike who took it gratefully and bit a large piece off, most of it hanging out of his mouth.

Before he could use his other hand to break it off, El grabbed his arm to stop him and put her lips on his, biting off the piece he had sticking out of his mouth. With a grin, she lifted her head back up and chewed contentedly, enjoying the taste of her favorite sweet snack.

"That was highly unsanitary, you know that?" Lucas asked, Max only grinning.

"Oh really?" Mike smirked.

"Really." Lucas nodded.

"Alright, what about this then?" Mike grinned and pulled El back down, pressing his lips to hers and ending the kiss with more Eggo waffle in his mouth than he had before the kiss.

"Ew, gross." Dustin made a face. "But seriously, how many of those can you eat? You eat them all the time."

"They taste good." El smiled.

"And come on, Lucas enjoys drinking New Coke and calls it delicious." Mike added.

"Yeah, you're right, that's simply wrong." Dustin admitted.

"What's wrong with New Coke?" Lucas asked indignantly.

"Everything." Everyone but Eleven, since she had never tasted either, replied in unison.

"Lucas, it's syrupy piss-water." Dustin said. "As if they had taken the original and added three times the amount of sugar."

"El, what do you think?"

"I don't know, I never drank either." El shrugged.

"Okay, taste this." Lucas said, handing her a can of regular coca-cola.

"It's very sweet and burns in my mouth." El commented, setting the can back down.

"That's just the carbon dioxide to make it fizzle, you get used to it." Dustin explained as Lucas handed her a glass of water and a can of New Coke.

"Now, drink this water to clean your mouth and then taste New Coke." Lucas smiled, looking smugly at his friends while El did, only for his face to fall when El spit out the New Coke into the water glass.

"Oh, that's just... ew." El made a disgusted face.

"See?" Mike said and rubbed her back. "It's just you who likes this crap."

"I wonder who at that company thought this was a great idea." Max wondered.

"Guys, it all makes sense." Dustin spoke up, the others looking at him. "Think about it, they introduce a new version of coke, have it bomb and reintroduce their old recipe as Coke classic or something and it gets sold by the millions."

"That's a bit far-fetched, isn't it?" Will shook his head.

"Lets just continue to the game." Mike brought back their focus to what they were doing.

* * *

They kept playing and taking a break or two until Mike announced the end of the session when the clock showed it to be two-thirty in the morning. After everyone had washed up and brushed their teeth, the group had dispersed into their various rooms, everyone simply flopping into their respective beds or sleeping bags, their tiredness quickly overcoming any desire to kiss the night away.

But tonight was different for Eleven. Since losing her powers during the battle at Starcourt Mall, she had never dreamed of anything related to the Upside Down, bar the occasional nightmares that were about her time in the lab. But now, she found herself in the void, the dimension somewhere between the Upside Down and the real world.

She looked around and saw nothing, heard nothing. She began running, trying to get out, waiting for the growl of Demogorgons or the Mind Flayer that she always heard when she got here and stayed too long. After running for what felt like hours, she saw a single bed in the distance, a figure supposedly sleeping in it.

As she closed in, she could make out features of the person atop the covers. It was an adult man, dressed only in shorts, a hint of a beard on his face, his hair cut short like hers used to be in the lab. If she had to guess, she'd say that he was as tall as Mike was currently but much broader. He also had numerous scars on his body, which looked like they came from wounds caused by knifes or other cutting tools, also some on his back that reminded her of lash marks as if he had been whipped.

But the one thing that drew her gaze the most was a small tattoo on his left forearm, a discovery that made her breath hitch and her body shake from the memories it conjured. There, in dark ink, was written a 001, three numbers that caused her to whimper almost in fear when the shadow of Dr. Brenner appeared behind the bed, his face contorted in anger, a face she remembered all too well from the times she failed in whatever task he had set for her.

"Who are you?" a question snapped her out of her memories and she looked into a pair of green eyes speckled with gray spots but before she could react, the void disappeared and her bedroom replaced her surroundings.

She sat up, breathing heavily, the comforter she shared with Mike falling away. She felt a sheen of sweat on her forehead and got out of the bed to go to the bathroom to wash her face and use the toilet while she was in here. She took a deep breath and looked at her reflection in the mirror, seeing no hint of a nosebleed. Shrugging the images off as a strange dream, she returned to the bedroom, the first light of the morning seeping through the window and illuminating Mike's sleeping form.

She stood at the foot of the bed and watched him sleep. His face looked serene, his breathing even and his arm in the spot where she had lain a few minutes ago. She saw that his shirt had ridden up a bit during the night and overcome with curiosity, she knelt on the bed and gently pulled it up even more, making his stomach visible. She saw the toning he developed with the swimming he had taken up and she ran her hand over it, her hand moving close to the waistband of his pajama bottoms.

She was startled when a bulge suddenly developed under his bottoms, growing further and further and making it look as if his pants would soon rip. She was about to shake him apart when the growing stopped but when he didn't wake up or showed any signs of being in pain, she refrained from doing it, instead gingerly poking the area, which made him murmur.

"Good morning beautiful." he mumbled, opening his eyes and seeing her sitting next to him.

"Morning." she blushed slightly and saw his slight smile as he looked up and down her form. "What?"

"You look stunning even the first thing in the morning." he hummed and ran his hand over her thigh where her shirt ended. "Wait, isn't that my shirt? I was looking for this at home."

"I kept it." she whispered. "It smelled like you. You want it back?"

"Nah, it looks so much better on you." he smiled warmly.

She bent down and dropped a kiss on his lips, scrunching her face and retreating again when she tasted his mouth. He could only chuckle and when she saw his face equally scrunched, she could only laugh with him.

"Why is your breath so bad?" she giggled.

"Yours is bad as well." he chuckled as well and grabbed a bottle of juice that was standing on her nightstand, handing it to her first. "It's called morning breath."

"Why is it so bad?" she asked and took a sip before handing him the bottle.

"No idea, I should ask my biology teacher next time I see her." Mike said and took a sip himself.

"Yeah, but not today." she smiled and took the bottle away from him, capping it and placing it onto the nightstand before throwing herself at him.

Pressed against his side, she kissed him hard. Unlike all the times they kissed before, this time she felt his tongue press against her lips. They parted on their own, allowing him to explore her mouth and after overcoming the initial shock, her own tongue darted back, both dancing the age-old dance of love while his right hand moved up and down her back, ever more going further down to her behind until his pinky finger tentatively explored her left, covered-by-his-shirt, cheek.

"I gotta pee." Mike suddenly interrupted the kiss.

"Romantic." El raised her eyebrows at him.

"Sorry." he chuckled and hurried to the bathroom, leaving her grinning in bed but unable to stop ogling his behind as he stood up.

"Dude, I wanted to use it." she heard Dustin's voice.

"Right when I'm done." Mike's voice replied.

"Hey, El." Dustin waved at her when he saw her through the still open door.

"Morning." she waved back, hoping that Mike's shirt was long enough to cover her lower body, but Dustin gave no indication that he saw anything she would only Mike allow to see.

"Hey, bathroom free?" Lucas's voice added itself to the mix.

"No, Mike's in there." Dustin told him.

"Morning, El." Lucas waved at her.

"Stop ogling her." Max growled as she grabbed Lucas' head and turned it forcefully away from El.

"I wasn't... ow!" Lucas squealed when Max flicked his earlobe.

"Where did you all come from?" Mike asked as he exited the bathroom, seeing his three friends standing there.

"It's morning and we had a lot to drink last night." Dustin replied and hurried inside.

"Whatever happened to ladies first?" Max huffed as the door closed.

"Not when it comes to using the bathroom in the morning!" Dustin called out from inside.

"Come on, lets get dressed so we can have breakfast." Mike smiled, holding out his arms so she could grab them.

He pulled her up and she fell into his arms, enjoying the feeling of warmth and safety she always got when he was holding her. His height allowed her to bury her head into his chest, deeply inhaling the scent that she loved. He pressed a kiss against her forehead and left the room, giving her privacy so she could change into her clothes for the day. For some reason, she had hoped he would stay and watch her, but Mike was too much of a gentleman to do that without her inviting him to do that.

"Morning boys." a tired Joyce greeted them as they filed into the dining area where they had played the night before.

"Where's our stuff?" Dustin asked in panic, looking around. "We kept it there to know where we left off."

"Don't worry, it's over there." Joyce pointed to the small cabinet, where their figurines and papers were situated. "Enjoy breakfast."

"Aren't you eating with us?" Mike asked as a tired Will shuffled out of his room.

"I already ate." Joyce said. "Not enough room for all of us."

"Wow." Dustin gasped when he saw the table. "Misses Byers, can I move in here?"

"Enjoy your breakfast." Joyce laughed and ruffled Dustin's locks.

The group ate their breakfast all the while talking excitedly about the upcoming day, planning everything they wanted to do today. Max kept insisting to go shopping with El without the boys, so Dustin suggested going to the local mall where the girls could shop while the guys could get some more gaming stuff or check out the local arcades. Halfway through the breakfast, El excused herself, seeking out her surrogate mother who she found in the living room, sitting on the couch, nursing a cup of coffee and reading the paper.

"Joyce?" El asked her, getting the woman's attention when the others were out of earshot.

"Yes, honey?" Joyce smiled at her.

"I have a question."

"About?" Joyce looked at her ward, taking a sip from her coffee.

"When I woke up this morning, I saw Mike sleeping and his underwear bulged up." El said, showing the tent shape with her hands and making Joyce spit her mouthful back into the cup.

"Wh... What?" Joyce sputtered.

"What was that?" El asked, wondering about her surrogate mother's reaction.

"Ugh, I should have never agreed to let you two sleep in the same bed." Joyce muttered to herself before seeing Eleven stare at her. "Uh... that was... didn't Hopper ever have the talk with you?"

"The talk?"

"Yes, the talk about... you know."

"Know what?"

"Well... the sex talk?" Joyce hoped against all odds.

"No." El shook her head, shrugging.

"Of course he didn't." Joyce sighed. "And didn't you have sex education in school yet?"

"No." El shook her head again.

"Right, you probably got in too late." Joyce sighed and bowed to the inevitable. "Well, you know men and women are different, right?"

"Different species?" El inquired. "That's what Lucas called us."

"Not different in that kind of way." Joyce shook her head, chuckling.

"Then how?"

"Well, you know how women have... you know, breasts and men don't?" she started, cupping the air in front of her chest, and El nodded. "And between their legs, men have a... a..."

"A what?" El prodded, wondering why Joyce was blushing so hard.

"Ah, screw it." Joyce shook her head, realizing that her ward was at an age where she should know this. "Men have a penis. Women have vaginas. And when men reach puberty, they can have erections, which means the penis grows and gets hard but it doesn't stay that way."

"Why?"

"Erections are signs of sexual arousal." Joyce explained.

"So, Mike was sexually aroused in his sleep? Was he dreaming something sexual?" she wanted to know, not telling Joyce that she had been caressing his stomach close to his crotch.

"Maybe." Joyce shrugged. "You said he was sleeping, right?"

"Yes." El nodded.

"Men can have several erections during sleep. The last one before the man wakes up I also called morning wood, or morning erection." she continued. "So, it could be that Mike was dreaming something steamy but it could also be that his body does the same thing every man's body does at his age."

"Thank you."

"Jane, you must have had periods already, right?" Joyce asked with El nodding in reply. "Didn't Hop ever tell you why that was? Did you ever ask him?"

"When it happened the first time, I cried because I thought I was injured." El remembered. "He took me in his arms and explained that I was going into puberty and that was completely normal."

"But he never expanded that explanation to what puberty looks like in boys?"

"No."

"Hop, you lovable fool." Joyce sighed sadly and took another sip of her coffee.

"How do I know when I'm sexually aroused?" El suddenly asked, making her spit it back into the glass again. "Sorry."

"Alright, wait here." Joyce put her glass down and got up, moving into her bedroom and returning a few minutes later with a stack of magazines. "Read those."

"Cosmopolitan?" El read the title.

"Yes, these issues explain everything really well." Joyce nodded and handed them over. "Read them, and if you have any other questions afterwards, come to me again."

"Thanks." El smiled. "Mom."

Joyce managed to wait until El had left the living room before she let some emotional tears fall. She missed Hopper but she was also touched that Jane was beginning to see her as her mom. Her mind went back to the day when she was in the underground bunker, watching as Hop stood behind the arcing electricity and giving her that tiny nod that told her to destroy the machine, even knowing it would kill him but safe his daughter.

Wiping away a tear, she went back to reading her magazine but she didn't really remember any of the words, her mind going through possibilities that would never be.

* * *

**So, I decided to stop here. What do you think? Does it merit me to continue or are you turned off by my writing and throwing up right now? ^^**

**Review please :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**So, I had this almost written out before I posted the first chapter, hence the speed of updating. Since I write other stories too, updates can become more further apart, so I hope you'll bear with me if it takes a while for the next chapter to arrive.**

**Also, with this chapter, I'll up the rating to M. An explanation for why is in the author's notes at the end of the chapter.**

**Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I write for my own pleasure and that of the readers.**

* * *

"Alright, boys and girls." Joyce announced. "Will can show you which train to take to get to the mall and Nancy and Jonathan will come with me to do the Thanksgiving shopping."

"Do we have to?" Nancy whined.

"Yes, you do." Joyce nodded resolutely, Nancy bowing to the inevitable. "As for you guys, be good and be safe."

The group piled out of the house, Joyce and the two young adults getting into her car to drive to the store. Will led them to the train station and after waiting a few minutes, the group got into it, sitting down on some free seats, El sitting in Mike's lap, her arm over his shoulder.

"How is school doing, by the way?" Mike asked his girlfriend, kissing her hand while she rested her head against his temple.

"Okay, I guess." El shrugged.

"She's doing amazing." Will smiled at them. "She really has caught up with everything and she's hitting it out of the park in creative writing class."

"You do creative writing?" Mike asked proudly.

"I wrote a story and the teachers liked it." El shrugged again, blushing.

"Dude, she wrote your love story." Will grinned.

"My love story?" Mike looked at him confused.

"Yours and El's." Will corrected. "She wrote about a girl lost in the woods, drenched in rain, and found by a group of boys her age, one of whom snuck her into his house, gave her clean clothes, fed her and hid her from his parents to protect her and how she fell in love with him that day."

"That day?" Mike raised an eyebrow at his love.

"Yes." El nodded, giving him a shy smile.

"Thank god!" Mike sighed. "I thought it was just me who fell in love that day."

"You guys are so cute, it's almost sickening." Max huffed and acted as if she had to hurl.

"Is that the green-eyed monster I see?" El poked out her tongue at her.

"Shut up." Max moped.

"Envy." El winked at Mike and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

El closed her eyes and leaned against Mike, simply enjoying the closeness she had missed since leaving. Talking every day helped when it came to missing him but him being here in person would always be better. Joyce had told her that she would have to finish school and if she went to college or started a job, she would be able to live with Mike if she wanted to or if they went to the same college. She hadn't talked to Mike about it yet, given that it was still a couple of years away but the thought of waking up next to him every morning filled her with joy and excitement.

A while later, the train rumbled to a stop, the group exiting the transport and walking towards the mall. Will led the way like he had lived there for years instead of months, El soon gasping at the flurry of activity inside the huge building, blinking lights momentarily disorienting her. She grasped Mike's arm, holding herself steady as her boyfriend led her through the throng of people in front of them.

"What's wrong, El?" he asked her, noticing her concern.

"I've never seen so many people in such a small space." she admitted.

"Will, have you never taken her to the mall since you got here?" Mike turned to his friend, slightly accusing.

"Hey, it's not my fault that she spends her days either doing homework, studying or, her favorite pastime, holding a walkie and talking to you for hours on end." Will raised his arms. "And don't get me started on how many batteries she used up before we got her the new one that could be charged with a cable."

"I need to catch up to the other students." El shrugged and looked at Mike. "And I love talking to you."

"Me too." Mike smiled. "But the cable walkie is a great idea. Need to buy one of those."

"Can you afford it?" El wanted to know.

"Sure." Mike nodded. "I also need a few new swim trunks as well for my new job."

"You got a job?" Will asked.

"Yeah, he's gonna be a part time lifeguard at the pool." Dustin told him.

"In November?" Max looked incredulous.

"No, the indoor pool." Lucas interjected.

"Then the girls can ogle him even more than they already do." Dustin grinned.

"Girls are ogling you?" El stopped dead in her tracks, her hand holding Mike stopping him as well.

"What?" Mike looked at her, not having paid much attention to what Dustin had said.

"Girls are ogling you?" El repeated, squinting her eyes at him.

"No, they don't." Mike shook his head.

"They do." Max confirmed.

"What?" Mike was confused. "When? Where?"

"Remember two weeks ago, when you went on one of your swims?" Dustin asked.

"Yeah." Mike nodded slowly, still confused, while El squeezed his elbow almost painfully.

"Didn't you notice that, when you started, the pool was empty and when you finished, there was suddenly a group of girls sitting on the benches?" Dustin continued.

"What, you mean the bitch squad?" Mike shrugged. "What about them? They were sitting there in their bikinis and bathing suits, I thought they just waited for me to finish before they got into the pool."

"They were waiting for you to finish, alright." Dustin winked at him. "Trying to get a peek at that hard body of yours."

"I swear I didn't do anything." Mike looked fearfully at El, who still squinted at him. "I love only you."

"Good." El nodded.

"Wait, Dustin." Mike turned to his friend. "When you said you saw those girls there, where were you?"

"That's... not important. We should get to the stores." Dustin tried to change the topic.

"Ooooh, Dustin peeped on girls in bikinis." Max cooed. "Wait until we tell Suzie about this."

"Are you insane?" Dustin shrieked. "I wasn't peeping, I wanted to pick up Mike."

"We never met that day until after I got home again." Mike said.

"Okay, let the guys fight it out." Max interjected. "El, you're with me."

Before she could even think about giving Mike a kiss, Max had dragged her away, pushing her into the nearest store where a truly staggering amount of various items of clothing were hanging everywhere. Everything from dresses to underwear was situated in different areas, customers perusing the offers and store clerks putting them back onto their hangers when the people simply left them in the changing booths.

"So, lets get you something that will let Mike completely forget that other girls exist." Max grinned and moved to the underwear section.

"Max, we're fourteen." El gasped at the sight of all the, what she would call slutty, underwear.

"I'm fifteen. And it doesn't hurt to wear one of these." Max grinned, ignoring El's objection and holding a bra out to her.

"What's so special about that?"

"It's a wonderbra." Max giggled. "Makes your books look bigger."

"Okay." El hesitated, looking down at herself.

"Oh, don't fret, they're fine." Max waved her off. "Remember, they're still growing. Now go ahead, try it on. And also this, this, this and these."

El groaned when Max handed her several more items of clothing, a pair of jeans and several t-shirts along with a sweater and shoved her into the changing booth. She tried on the sweater first, removing hers and deciding that the new one wasn't that great when she felt the itching coming from the fabric. Next were the shirts, one of which she put down as a maybe when she saw how well it fitted itself to her body.

She had to give credit to Max because the jeans fitted perfectly. Every nuance of her lower body was accentuated and she felt a blush come on at the thought of how Mike would react if she showed it to him. She put those on the maybe pile too, then looked at the bra Max had handed her. With a sigh, she removed her shirt and bra and put the new one on, looking impressed at what it did to the appearance of her chest, even when she put her shirt back on.

"You got the bra on?" Max asked from outside.

"Yes." El said shyly.

"Can I see?" Max pleaded.

"Fine." El sighed and Max entered the booth as well. "So?"

"Looks good." Max nodded. "Can you lift the shirt?"

"No!" El gasped and held her arms protective around her chest.

"Come on, it's not as if I can't see a pair of those every day." Max huffed, pointing at her own chest. "I just wanna see how it looks just with the bra."

"Fine." El repeated and lifted her shirt, eliciting an impressed nod from her friend while feeling self-conscious about it.

"You know what you need to do tonight?" Max grinned. "When you and Mike are in your room, put that on in the bathroom and ask him for his opinion on your knew clothes, then come out wearing only that and he will never look at another girl again."

"You think so?" El asked hopefully, Dustin's words about girls ogling him still reverberating in his mind.

"Well, he'd never look at another girl anyway but every bit to reinforce it helps." Max giggled and pulled out a camera from her bag. "Come on, use your arms to squeeze your chest together and bend forward."

"What?" El gasped, covering her chest again.

"It's for Mike." Max told her. "A memento for when he has to go back to Hawkins."

"Can't believe I'm doing this." El shook her head and did as Max had suggested, letting her take a couple of pictures and even throwing an air kiss into one of them.

"Come on, buy this one and lets get to the next store." Max said. "I saw some amazing shoes before we came in here."

El put the shirt back onto the hanger and only bought the bra and the jeans, the latter only because it was on sale. She didn't want to spend all her money since she needed some of it for a Christmas gift for Mike and her new family and of course, for the ticket to get to Hawkins.

"How's life in general?" Max asked as they perused the shoes.

"I can't complain." El shrugged. "Joyce found a good job that pays well, it's going well in school..."

"Any problems with bullies?"

"No more than the usual." El shrugged, remembering Troy and his behavior towards the boys. "There's this... I think Mike called it a bitch squad, girls who are mean and make fun of others."

"I think they exist in every school." Max chuckled.

"I pity them." El said.

"Why?"

"They do all this because they want attention. I don't think any of them have a boyfriend." El told her. "I have Mike. I'm happier than them."

"That's very astute." Max was impressed. "You're turning into a people person."

"You take that back!" El gasped and laughed.

"Was Will right with the creative writing thing?"

"Yes, I like writing." El nodded. "It helps me cope, since dad is gone and I can't be with Mike every day."

"That's good." Max said, running her head across her back in support.

* * *

"Mike, what's wrong?" Dustin asked when they walked through the gaming supply store, looking for a Dungeons and Dragons figurine that would fit Max's new character class.

"Nothing's wrong." Mike waved him off, holding his bag with his new swim trunks. "I just became aware that we're leaving again in two days and I won't get to see El until Christmas."

"Cheer up, it's not that bad." Lucas said.

"Easy for you to say, you can see your girlfriend every day."

"Yeah, but I can't see mine at all." Dustin interjected. "I can't even talk to her every day."

"Yeah, that's true." Mike sighed. "Thanks buddy, for making me feel better."

"I'm glad that my relationship misery is cheering you up." Dustin deadpanned while the other boys grinned, knowing they weren't meaning it in any bad way.

"Dustin, you may have to accept that Suzie won't be the one, given that her parents wouldn't allow it." Mike told him. "We're freshmen now, so you may wanna expand your search parameters."

"Maybe that's what he was doing when he checked out the girls at the pool." Will winked at them.

"I wasn't checking out the girls." Dustin huffed. "I... just wanted to make sure Mike wouldn't overexert himself and drown."

"Dustin, I can swim." Mike smirked.

"Dude, you're swimming for like two hours straight." Lucas said. "He has a point."

"Why do you do that anyway?" Dustin wanted to know. "It's like you have to do it."

"It distracts me when I miss El." Mike shrugged.

"That's nice to hear." the voice of his soulmate made them jump.

"Jesus, wear a bell." Dustin held his chest. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough." El smiled warmly and stepped into Mike's arms, her lips on his.

"Well, there goes the shopping, they will do this for the rest of the day." Max sighed, watching his two friends make out.

"And when they forget that there are people here and they're not alone." Max added and pulled Mike's hand away when it came to rest on El's butt.

"Sorry." El blushed, stopping the kiss and looking up at Mike who looked as embarrassed as she felt, though she was kinda missing his hand where it had been.

"Guys, I found it!" Will announced and picked up a box.

"You found what?" Max asked.

"The figurine you can use to represent your character in the Dungeons and Dragons game." Will said proudly and showed her the box of a figure, with skin dark as onyx and flowing white hair, holding two daggers.

"That looks badass." Max admitted. "Not a girl though."

"Drow females are rarely anything else than priestesses." Mike told her.

"This one it is then." Max shrugged.

The group as a whole continued their stroll through the mall, Mike taking El's bag to carry it for her without her having to ask for it, causing Max to give Lucas a pointed look that her boyfriend didn't understand until Max almost rammed her bag into Lucas' hand. Since they didn't want to spend all day in the mall, not that they couldn't, being in one brought back some bad memories for most of them. After a quick lunch, they rented some videos to watch while they continued to play the Dungeons and Dragons campaign and returned home by train.

"Wow, it smells good in here." Dustin commented, smelling the pies that would be served as dessert the next day.

"You can lick the bowl empty later, if you want." Joyce laughed from the kitchen.

"Where are Jonathan and Nancy?" Will asked.

"They went out." Joyce replied. "They deserved it after helping me with all this. Did you have fun?"

"Yes." Lucas nodded. "We got some stuff and rented some videos to watch while we play."

"Enjoy." Joyce called from the kitchen.

"Guys, I just thought of something." Dustin said as they situated themselves around the table, their gaming stuff in front of them.

"What?" Max asked.

"The Starcourt mall." Dustin said. "The Russians must have build it or whoever built it must have been in league with them."

"Do you know how crazy that sounds?" Mike looked at his friends.

"Guys, you weren't down there but I was." Dustin reminded them. "They built a huge underground facility. They had an elevator that went hundreds of feet down and then a tunnel miles long that led to the area where they had built this machine that had reopened the gate."

"He's right." Will agreed. "How could they have built it without anyone knowing?"

"Imagine how much dirt and debris they would have to transport away. Without something like a mall as cover, how would you explain that you have to transport dozens if not hundreds of truckloads of dirt." Dustin recounted. "And all that concrete and other stuff they need to build their facility. How would you explain ordering hundreds of tons of cement for something nobody knows was being build?"

"That raises the question how the Russians knew about the gate under Hawkins in the first place." Mike theorized.

"Well, our government kidnapped children with powers and tried to make them into weapons." Lucas pointed at El. "Who's to say the Russians haven't done or are doing something similar?"

"But I opened the gate in the first place." El reminded them, her voice quiet.

"Maybe some Russian experiment opened one too?" Dustin suggested. "Or they somehow found out about the Upside Down and realized that there was a gate here in Hawkins. Why else come here?"

"Dustin, how many Russians were down there?" Mike asked his friend.

"Dozens." Dustin told him. "Add the scientists and you had at least a hundred people or more."

"How did all of them get into the country in the first place?" Mike looked around. "I doubt that they could have come here without our government knowing about it."

"You mean someone helped them?" Lucas asked.

"Like the bad people who ran the lab." Mike looked at his love, squeezing her hand in support. "After they had to leave because of those reports in the news, maybe they didn't want to stop?"

"I think, if we keep thinking about this, we'll have nosebleeds like El did when she used her powers." Max huffed. "Lets continue with the game, shall we?"

"All right." Mike nodded, everyone agreeing, and he took up the narration again from where they left off. "The group got up before dawn, wanting to leave the town before people could notice their newest traveling companion."

El looked at her sweetie, smiling at the effortless way he switched into narrative mode and seeing his passion for the game, even though they had gotten older and a lot of his passion had switched to her. She ran a hand over his thigh, his voice cracking for a moment before he placed his left hand on hers, giving her a look out of the corner of his eye and a slight smile while never missing a beat.

Just looking at him doing this gave her another idea for her next creative writing assignment. A story about a hero looking for his princess and battling monsters and fathers on the way. When the word father entered her mind, her mood turned to sad, her mind conjuring up the images of her dad in his police uniform, his head like a tomato when he had once again caught them kissing.

"You alright?" Mike squeezed his hand.

"Yeah." she nodded. "Thinking of dad."

"We all miss him." Mike said and the others agreed. "Even though he scared the crap out of me so much that it led to our breakup."

"Wait, I wanted to ask you about this." El sat up straighter. "What exactly happened? The last time you tried to explain, you couldn't gather enough courage to tell me you loved me and you said something about what he did."

"Remember when he came into your room and tried to talk to us both about something before he said that my mother called about my nana?"

"Yes." El nodded.

"When we got into his car, he went all psycho on me, telling me that I had to stay away from you for a while or he wouldn't allow me to see you anymore at all." Mike explained. "And he also ordered me to never tell you about this, hence my lie about my nana."

"That son of a bitch!" El cursed. "If he were here, I would smack him."

"Honey, never forget that he did this all because he loved you." Mike calmed her. "Even if his methods were a little weird."

"But breaking up the relationship between your daughter and her boyfriend?" Max wondered. "If she had found out about it, she would have torn him apart, literally."

"No, not that but I probably would have thrown him back and forth a bit." El chuckled sadly. "I miss him."

"He'll always be with you in here." Mike told her, putting his hand flat on her chest, the intimate gesture giving her stomach flutters, especially when his fingers ended up right on top of her left nipple, even covered by two layers of clothing.

"I know." El nodded, snuggling into his side.

"Hey, no cheating." Dustin waved her hand to shoo her away from her place at Mike's side.

"Why cheating?"

"You can't look at the Dungeon Master's boards." Lucas told her.

"Sorry." El huffed, rolling her eyes.

"So, we're deep in the cave." Dustin said, getting the group's attention back to the game.

"I strain my ears to see if there's any danger around." Lucas announced.

"Roll it." Mike nodded and Lucas rolled a four.

"Well, you don't hear anything." Mike chuckled.

"I do the same." Max said and rolled the die, getting a twelve and since her character was better suited for dark caves, her roll was a success.

"You find a small runic circle on the floor, broken on one side." Mike told Max. "The others hold their torches close to it and find scattered bones and clothing remains around it, indicating a place that was used to summon something. There's a small glass ball directly in the center."

"I take it in my hand and cast identify object on it." El said and rolled the dice, the result being a one.

"Shit, a fumble." Lucas groaned.

"The glass ball starts shaking. Flames begin churning inside it and it looks as if it was about to burst. The mage lets the ball fall to the ground and the impact bursts it open, the flames licking out and touching the rim of the summoning circle. It is a demon."

"Oh man." Dustin wailed. "Please don't be a demon lord or a balor."

"It's not a demon lord." Mike announced after rolling his dice and rolling again to find out which one came out of the glass ball. "It's a... an Immolith."

"Oh, shit!" Dustin groaned. "Who has ice magic?"

"I do." El said.

"She needs at least two turns to cast a spell strong enough to beat an immolith." Lucas pointed out.

"Mike, it's a fiend, can't you cast your turn spell?" Dustin asked.

"I doubt I would roll high enough to be successful for that kind of fiend." Mike said, thinking about it. "I got an idea. I raise my shield and stand in front of the mage to shield her against the flames."

He rolled the dice and in their game mind, the monster attacked them with a burst of fire, the flames hitting the shield of the paladin until its enchants were overwhelmed and the fighter was thrown aside, his skin scorched. El's character did her attack, destroying the creature in one fell swoop, sending it back to the circle of hell it came from while Will the Cleric tended the wounds of the paladin.

"Whew, that was intense." Lucas chuckled. "Though we were kinda useless in this fight."

* * *

"Wow, I really thought we'd finish in two nights." Mike mused as they sat around the dinner table, eating pizza. "Guess I misjudged."

"Well, you could either finish it tomorrow after we have the Thanksgiving dinner or you keep your progress until Christmas when El and Will come down to Hawkins for two weeks." Joyce chuckled.

"If Max hadn't thrown a tantrum, we would have made it." Lucas shrugged, receiving a slap on his head in return. "Ow, what was that for."

"I didn't throw a tantrum." Max harrumphed. "I just didn't want to spend more hours playing a board game. We rented movies for a reason."

"Guys, she's right." Mike said. "We should be thankful that the girls play D&D in the first place."

"True." Dustin agreed. "Thanks, you two."

"You're welcome." El smiled. "By the way Max, what movies did you get?"

"Well, some of the greatest from last year that are now out on video." Max smiled. "Some action for the boys and some romance for us."

"Good god!" Mike sighed, hearing the movie genre he like the least. "What mushy story will we have to suffer through?"

"Out of Africa." Max wiggled her eyebrows, causing all the boys to groan.

"But at least we can cancel that out with Back to the Future, The Goonies and Cocoon." Will added. "We should start with The Goonies, so we have a basis to endure Out of Africa and tomorrow we can watch the other two."

"It's a plan." Lucas agreed, Dustin as well.

"I bet my next allowance that Mike and El won't watch a second of Out of Africa because they'll be too busy kissing on the lay-z-boy." Dustin smiled. "Any takers?"

"Are you nuts?" Will shook his head. "I don't take bets I know I'll lose."

"I doubt we will do that for the entire movie." Mike shook his head.

As it turned out, Mike would have lost the bet if he had taken it. He and El snuggled up together on the lay-z-boy and shared a bowl of popcorn while watching the first movie but when Max put the romance into the player and they had put their empty popcorn bowl away, it took less than ten minutes of the movie for their lips to meet for the first time and from the moment the movie hit the thirty minute mark to the end, their lips never separated except for a bathroom break both needed.

Hoots and snickering accompanied their making out, Joyce keeping quiet about it due to her appreciation for the deep love she saw between the two. She also knew that Mike would never do anything untoward with El, never pressure her into anything though she wasn't so sure what he'd do if El pushed the issue.

During the make-out, Mike's hand had drawn circles on her back but had moved down her body on its own until it rested on her behind again. El had felt it and decided it felt nice, so stopping him from doing that didn't become an option and she had even tried to push herself against his hand though he had understood that as an order to take it away until a few minutes later, it had found its way back.

Being shook out of their own world after the movie by Joyce to the snickering of the others was a minor embarrassment for the two but they continued to kiss while they waited for their turn in the bathroom until Joyce reminded them that there was a second one downstairs that they could use. When all the others were ready, El told Mike to use the ground floor bathroom while she used the one on the upper floor but before she went inside, she grabbed the wonderbra she had bought with Max, putting it on once she was done showering and brushing her teeth.

"Mike?" she got her love's attention, who turned around and stood in front of the bed, clad in his pajama shorts without a shirt.

El had only her head in the room, the rest of her body hidden by the door but her eyes almost bulged out when she saw his upper body shirtless for the first time ever. The scrawny boy she fell in love with had not only grown very tall but also rather big, his torso turning into a V-shape from the exercise he was doing with visible stomach muscles that weren't as pronounced when she had run her hands over them during the morning.

"El?" Mike snapped her out of her ogling. "What is it?"

"I bought something but I don't think if it's something I should wear. Can you give me your honest opinion?" she asked.

"Of course." he nodded and she stepped into the room, his eyes going wide. "Wow, you look... different. But that's the same thing you wore last night, isn't it? Or are you wearing a different pair of bottoms?"

"No, they're the same." she said and lifted the shirt a bit, revealing the same tight-fitting pajama shorts with flower patterns and noticing his eyes bulging even further.

"Then what?" he asked, his eyes roaming back to her chest.

"I got this." she said and lifted her shirt to reveal her chest, her breasts bunched up by the bra.

Mike's first thought was that his heart had stopped beating. His eyes were glued to the two bulging domes protruding from her chest. He knew for a while that she was developing nicely in that area but what he was seeing was bigger than he had ever seen them, bigger than they were all day. While El looked somewhat self-conscious and was waiting for his comment, she saw his mouth forming into an 'o' and back to closed before going into the shape again but to be honest, she was already informed of his reaction by the bulge developing in his pajama shorts.

"You look like a fish." she giggled.

"Wh... What happened there?" he asked almost breathlessly.

"It's a wonderbra." El explained. "Max made be buy it. It makes the breasts appear bigger. Do you like it?"

"El..."

"You don't like it?" she looked at him disappointed.

"No... I mean yes." Mike stammered.

"Which one?" she asked, still holding the shirt up.

"El, I think you're perfect in every way." he smiled. "You don't need to make your breasts look bigger, for me, they're perfect already."

"Every time I think I did something wrong, you say something like this." she sighed and walked into his arms, his mouth lowering to meet her lips.

With her shirt still above her breasts, it also didn't cover her behind anymore and Mike's hands went down there almost automatically while they kissed. El moaned into his mouth when he began squeezing her butt cheeks and a strange heat pooled inside her abdomen. As their tongues began dancing, she pushed forward, causing him to fall backwards onto the bed and she climbed in after him as he pushed himself to the back of it so his head was above the cushions.

She straddled him and felt the bulge, the erection as Joyce had told her, push against her. It was a weird feeling but weird in a good way and almost automatically, her lower body began undulating. Her moans became more urgent, her tongue darting into his mouth forcefully and Mike could barely fathom what was happening right now.

He knew what she was doing, he had read the various magazines that Steve and Robin had given them as a joke to learn, as they called it with a huge giggle. He just didn't know what brought it on at this time, though the last thing he wanted to do was stop her. It felt good to feel her grinding on his manhood and it felt even better to hear her feel pleasure after everything she went through in her life and the best feeling was that she was feeling it with him. El's movements became faster and faster until they were almost frantic. She broke the kiss and sat up, her own weight adding more pressure to her and she moaned loudly enough to make them concerned that someone could hear them if they had cared enough in that moment.

"Mike." she gasped. "Mike! Mike!"

Chanting his name with every grind forward, El suddenly stopped moving, her body beginning to shake. She pressed her lips together, moaning through her nose before she fell forward to press her lips on Mike's again and keened into his mouth, swallowing most of the sound and preventing it from escaping through the walls into the ears of the people in the other rooms.

"Oh, wow!" El gasped when she finally got her breath back. "What just happened?"

"Honey, did you just have an orgasm?" Mike asked.

"Or...gasm?" she repeated slowly.

"It's a... a... well, a sexual high." Mike tried to explain, blushing hard. "Like... uh..."

"Mike." she interrupted him, deciding to free him of the obligation of explaining it and determined to get through the magazines Joyce had handed her. "Shhh."

Smiling dreamily, she pressed her lips back on his and rolled on top of him again, this time just to kiss. With closed eyes, Mike reached out and shut off the light, plummeting the room into the darkness of the night, their tongues still dancing to the music of love. Neither of them noticed that every loose item in the room was now strewn on the floor.

* * *

**So, personally, if I had read that last part, I wouldn't have thought that it merits an M rating but since I don't know how people react to this kind of thing, I decided to up the rating anyway, just to make sure that overly sensitive readers aren't offended and end up reporting me.**

**Review please :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A side note: To anyone who writes fanfiction, did you ever get a review on an old story? I got one a short while ago on my first Kung Fu Panda story and the guest reviewer wrote that he "forgigives" (yes, he wrote it like that) me for the typos due to my German heritage. And he did that in a review that contained no less than five grammar errors, not to mention missing punctuation. Gotta love hypocrites sometimes :D**

**CalvinHobbesGatsby: reviews make me write more, so keep doing that :)**

**Guest: Nice of you to think that though the story is still at the beginning, so calling it the greatest story may be nice to hear but maybe a bit premature ^^**

**Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I write for my own pleasure and that of the readers.**

* * *

If Hopper were to see them, he'd blow a gasket. Not only was the door closed, El and Mike were under the same covers, Mike spooning El with his arm around her stomach, her body pressed against his. El had a smile on her face in her sleep, the simple fact of having the boy she loved so close causing her body to feel joy.

A sudden screech jolted her awake, her tired eyes seeing a bird flying away outside her window. After cursing silently at the avian creature, she noticed her position, feeling Mike's breath against the back of her head and his arm around her waist and immediately felt secure and loved. A pang of regret shot through her, knowing he would leave the next day.

Remembering what she did the night before, she pushed herself back to be even closer to him. Without doing it on purpose, she rubbed her behind against his crotch and felt what Joyce called the morning erection develop in his pajama bottoms. Just the thought of it made her wanna repeat what she did last night, just to get one of what Mike had called orgasms again.

Looking at her alarm clock, she saw that it was barely after seven in the morning. Formulating a plan, she reluctantly wiggled out of Mike's embrace and grabbed two of the magazines Joyce had given her before heading into the bathroom to use the toilet, brush her teeth while she was at it and to read them. By luck or design, she had taken one of the magazines that explained what she had experienced.

"Orgasm, also known as a climax, is the sudden discharge of accumulated sexual excitement during sexual intercourse, resulting in rhythmic muscular contractions in the pelvic region characterized by sexual pleasure. Experienced by males and females, orgasms are controlled by the involuntary or autonomic nervous system. They are often associated with other involuntary actions, including muscular spasms in multiple areas of the body, a general euphoric sensation and, frequently, body movements and vocalizations." she read in a whisper and remembered the night before. "Well, muscular spasm, check. Body movements, check. Vocalizations, check."

The next pages described ways of achieving it, from doing it to herself to achieving it during sex, even with descriptions on which positions would be most advantageous to get there. Her face blushed when she saw the drawings of people in the positions described, wondering how it would feel to do them with Mike at some point.

"El, are you in there?" Mike's voice snapped her out of her engrossed reading.

"Yeah, I'm here." El called back, closing the magazine.

"Will you be finished soon?" he asked. "I need to use it too and I don't wanna go downstairs."

"Sure, I'll be right out." she nodded, even though he couldn't see her and got up from her perch on the bathtub to open the door, revealing Mike in all his physical glory, his morning hair going into every direction.

"What's so funny?" he wondered when he saw her giggle.

"You look like one of those rockers on TV." she grinned, putting her fingers into his hair. "I like it."

"Really?" he smiled and ran a hand through his hair himself. "I usually comb it flat in the morning."

"Okay, I don't like it." she hummed.

"No?" he looked deflated.

"I love it." she whooped and ran both hands through his hair. "So ruffly yet soft."

"Alright, I won't comb it flat anymore." he leaned down to kiss her, just for her to lean backwards.

"Brush your teeth first, then we can kiss as much as you want." she poked her finger into his chest.

"Hey what happened there?" he pointed at her chest, now much less accentuated than last night.

"I took the bra off, I woke up in the middle of the night and it was chafing against my skin." she explained. "Now brush, I wanna kiss."

"I'll hold you to that." he winked and watched her as she walked out of the bathroom, her head turning back to him and her hands lifting her shirt above her waist, showing him her shapely behind in the pajama bottoms she wore.

Eyes wide at what he just saw and also at her newfound confidence and erotic playfulness, he used the toilet and, as per her wishes, brushed his teeth. He saw two issues of Cosmopolitan on the small cabinet next to the toilet, shaking his head at the fact that somehow every woman seemed to be reading it. His sister read those all the time, he knew that his mother did as well sometimes and apparently, Joyce and maybe even El read them, though he wasn't so sure with his love since she hadn't known what an orgasm was before last night.

Just thinking about her grinding on top of him made his manhood react and grow. Cursing his hormones for a moment, he tried to think of things that could stop this from happening, not really eager to walk back into the bedroom to his girlfriend with a bulge in his shorts, feeling that it could create assumptions on her part. He was glad that it was still this early because if his friends were to wait outside, he'd have a hard time explaining why he wasn't coming out of the bathroom despite not doing anything.

Finally composed, he returned to the bedroom, where he found the love of his life in bed, the covers strewn at her feet, her body on its side and her head held up by her arm. She smiled warmly at him and did a finger motion for him to get his ass into bed and Mike didn't have to be asked twice. He jumped into the bed, his impact next to Eleven knocking her a few inches into the air and she gave out a surprised yell before landing partially on his chest.

"Don't do that again without warning me first." she laughed and moved her hands into his hair again.

"Promise." he nodded and put his lips on hers.

Humming with excitement, El kissed him right back. Whereas they had only pressed their lips on each other's mouths before last night, this time Mike had no qualms about pushing his tongue into her mouth, which she gladly accepted. El had to admit that kissing was more fun when doing it that way, the others from before just pale imitations compared to what they were doing now.

Time lost all meaning while their lips locked and she had no idea when Mike had gathered the courage to run his hand over her body and her legs. She knew that he was probably doing that to prepare her for where his hand would end up and her suspicion was proven right when his hand first touched her behind, only to leave again but every time he ran his hand back over one of her cheeks, it stayed a bit longer. Chuckling into his mouth, an action she knew caused confusion in him by the sudden lesser intensity of the kiss, she rolled her body to rest completely on top of his.

"What's funny?" he asked after she broke the kiss, seeing her grin.

"How you try to appear so innocent in your touches." she giggled. "I love you."

"I love you too." he smiled back and as she reconnected their lips, she took both his hands and placed them on her butt.

"Go ahead." she gave him permission and it took a few seconds for Mike to realize what she was saying.

Emboldened by her permission, he gently squeezed. Her behind felt even better than it looked in every pair of shorts or pants he had seen her in and when she moaned into his mouth from his touch, he almost lost it. He also gained something, feeling the heat move south and then back up when his face blushed hard as his manhood betrayed him again, growing hard and against the girl lying on top of him.

She gave no indication that she was bothered. Quite the opposite, he noticed her shift her position on top of him so she was straddling his hips again like last night. As they continue to kiss, he debated in his head whether to go a step further or whether it was too soon and she would feel pushed too fast.

Internally shrugging his shoulders, he decided to go for it. Pulling his right hand slightly back, he dipped his fingers under the waistband of her pajama bottoms, only a sudden and very short holding of breath on her part indicating that she noticed it. She didn't make any effort to get up or to move his hand away so he pushed down further, now having all his fingertips inside the waistband.

She moaned again when he gave another gentle squeeze with his left hand and her hips pressed down. He took that as an invitation and pushed his right hand completely under her shorts, his hand now resting directly on her cheek. El gasped, still not moving her lips away from his and he thought he could feel her nod.

Emboldened by this, he did the same with his left and and three seconds later both his hands were on her naked ass, gently squeezing the flesh. El began moving more now, doing the same thing she did the night before and this time, Mike helped her along, pushing when she did the forward motion and relaxing when she went back.

The kiss became more heated but less active. El kept her mouth on his but their lips slighly separated, only their tongues still playing with each other. He felt El breath hard into his mouth with every undulation her hips did and she was clearly trying not to moan loudly in case any of the others were already awake.

After two more minutes, El sat up again, pressing herself down which didn't help his hands which were still on her butt but this time, he could use them to move her a little more forward than last night, even though his wrists were bent in an odd angle due to her position. El apparently didn't care, her head back and her eyes closed and his name coming rhythmically out of her mouth.

But unlike last night, the added movement range that Mike's hands caused resulted in him feeling a lot more than yesterday. Every time she moved forward felt like a lightning bolt hitting his body, a feeling of stimulation he had never felt before and one that he would always crave to feel again with her.

His feeling of confidence currently sky high, he took his hands out of her pajamas bottoms, El keeping the movements as hard and far as before, he placed them on the hem of the oversized shirt she was wearing. El gave no indication of acknowledgment but Mike was overcome with curiosity and pushed the shirt up.

Suddenly her head snapped back forward, her eyes opening and staring into his. He noticed that her eyes were darker than usual, as if the pupils had grown larger. While her lower body movements never stopped, she gazed at him like she was looking into his soul as if to evaluate his character. Giving him a loving smile, she pulled shirt over her head and Mike thought he died for real this time.

Even though he learned enough in biology class and during sex ed to know that her breasts were still growing, he was mesmerized by her already impressive size. The little mounds at their center looked as if made of stone and Mike reached tentatively for one of them. El hissed when his fingers touched the underside of her left breast and she intensified her hip movements to encourage him along.

He took the hint and ran his entire hand over it, cupping it and gently flicking his thumb over the nipple. El gave a high-pitched squeal and grabbed his wrist, making him fear that he went too far. Instead of the push down he expected, she pulled his hand harder against it, grabbing his other hand and putting it against her other breast.

Mike could barely believe what she allowed him to do and he eagerly explored this new side of her. It was the first time he ever saw her bare chest and it was an image he would forever sear into his brain. This, together with what she was doing with her hips would always be the first thing he'd think of in the morning and the last thing he'd think of at night before falling asleep whenever he was alone in his bed at home.

Her hands grabbed his elbows and he felt her pull. Acting on instinct, he lifted his upper body while El leaned back a bit and compensated in her movements but never stopped and without thinking about it, he put his lips around her right nipple. El hissed loudly, her hands at the back of his head, pressing it harder against her.

For her part, she could scarcely believe that she had been this bold so far. Not only was Mike allowing her to get the same pleasure she felt last night, he was doing something she had read on the second issue of the magazines Joyce had given her. Unfortunately, Mike's current position decreased the feeling she was getting from moving her hip, so she pushed him back down and redoubled her efforts to get back into the high she had been feeling before. Mike, falling back surprised, looked at her and finally noticed that something was partially blocking the morning light coming through the window. He gaped in amazement and turned his head to his girlfriend, who was leaning back again, before he looked at the room once more.

"Oh Mike." she moaned, feeling herself almost at the goal she wanted to reach.

"El!" she heard him say.

"Mike!" she moaned again.

"El!" came his reply, more urgent than before.

"Mike!" she said a third time, a higher pitch than before, this time noticing her body beginning to shake in that powerful feeling that was coming.

"El, stop!" she finally heard and now felt his hand son her hips as they tried to stop her from moving.

"What's wrong, don't you like it?" she panted and opened her eyes, feeling rejected and she cursed, since she had been so close but then she noticed that he wasn't looking at her.

"El, look." he pointed to their right and El saw every loose item in her room float in the air.

"What the...?" she started but just like that, everything fell to the floor, her backpack and especially the armchair giving a resounding thud, followed by the trampling of feet running up stairs.

"What was that?" the voice of Joyce said with alarm as she opened the door before she saw her surrogate daughter on top of her boyfriend. "Oh god!"

"Nothing happened!" Mike quickly squealed and jumped off the bed, somehow managing to get out from under El and the fact that he was still fully clothed, albeit with a visible erection, calmed her somewhat.

"Mike woke me up and we noticed everything floating." El said, giving Joyce at least a partial truth, pulling down her shirt as she fell forward before turning around, Joyce seeing her ward with a shirt covering up everything and pajama bottoms still on, which calmed her even more.

"What does it mean?" Mike asked. "Are you powers back?"

"I don't know." El said and tried to lift the teddy bear without success. "Apparently not."

"Did you dream something?" Joyce asked. "Maybe you were agitated. Hopper mentioned before that when you had nightmares, stuff started flying around too."

"I can't quite remember." El blushed.

"But that's good, isn't it?" Mike looked at both women. "Now we know that El's powers are still there, she just can't use them at will."

"Mike, I'm scared." El sobbed.

"Shh, don't cry." Mike got back into bed at once, taking her into his arms.

"If I can't control my powers, what if something bad happens?" she cried. "What if I accidentally throw you out the window?"

"I know you won't do that." Mike told her, hugging her tightly.

"I'm a freak." she sniffed.

"Maybe, but you're the most beautiful freak ever and I love you." he tried to joke, seeing her smile a bit. "We'll figure this out."

"Yeah." she nodded and looked him into the eyes. "Promise?"

"Promise." he nodded and kissed her.

"I'll go prepare breakfast." Joyce said and turned to leave. "Don't throw anyone out the window."

"Yeah, yeah, mom." El huffed and sat up on the bed, patting her hand on it as a signal for Mike to get back into it.

"What a morning." Mike groaned.

"Can I finish?" El asked and swung her leg over his crotch again.

"I don't think it will come back up after Joyce barged in here." he chuckled but smiled when El began moving her hips again, without much success.

"Hey, wake up down there." she moped, poking her finger against his crotch, eliciting a hiss from him. "What?"

"That hurt a bit." he winced.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry." she gasped and jumped off of him.

"It's okay, it's not as if you had kicked me down there." he grinned and pulled her down for a kiss.

"Does that hurt?"

"What, getting kicked?" he looked at her confused.

"Yes." she nodded.

"Lets just say, if you ever need to take down a guy, kicking him in the nuts will do it." Mike explained. "He will fold like a piece of paper and not get up for a while."

"Speaking from experience?" she giggled.

"Not personal experience." he said. "But a few years ago, we watched older kids play and they tried jumping over fence posts and one of them didn't jump high enough. He didn't get back up for half an hour."

"Oh my god!" she laughed out loud and got up. "We should get dressed."

"Right." he agreed and got up as well, watching with his mouth open as El discarded her shirt before grabbing her bra that used to hang over the back of the chair and was now on the floor.

"What?" she asked, looking at him.

"I... I..." he stammered, unable to take his eyes off of her chest and still amazed at how open she has become with him.

"Sweetie, you were touching and kissing them a few minutes ago." she winked and walked close to him, taking both his hands and placing them on her breasts. "So seeing them shouldn't paralyze you like that."

"But... you're so beautiful." he whispered, causing a heat flash inside her.

"Tonight, you can touch them again if you let me get an orgasm." she suggested, seeing his eyes almost fall out of his sockets.

"I... I... yeah, that sounds nice." he stammered again, fully flustered now.

"Now come on, put some clothes on, I want some breakfast." she giggled and without thinking about it, dropped her pajama shorts when her back was turned to him, hearing him groan loudly but seeing only his back when she turned around.

Normally, she would never have done that, taking her bottoms off with anyone else in the room but Mike made her feel so safe that she didn't even think about the fact that she was doing it with someone in the room. After donning her underwear, some pants and one of Mike's sweaters, she turned around and saw her love pulling a shirt over his head, his pants already on and watched as his toned stomach disappeared behind the fabric. Smiling, she walked into his arms and hugged him, letting him lower his head to kiss her.

"Lets get some food." she said and took his hand, leading him out of the room.

"Ah, the lovebirds are awake finally." Dustin hooted from his seat. "El, Misses Byers has told us about your powers returning, is that true?"

"Well, I woke up and stuff was floating in my room." she shrugged as she sat down on the chair Mike had pulled out for her. "But as soon as Mike made me aware of it, it fell down again and I couldn't even lift a teddy bear."

"That sucks." Dustin said dejected. "Your powers were so awesome, especially when you saved Mike after Troy forced him to jump from the cliff into the quarry."

"Troy did WHAT?" Nancy screamed.

"Don't worry, we're fine." Dustin calmed her. "El broke Troy's arm with her mind that day."

"That little weasel." Nancy gasped. "You could have died! Why would you do that?"

"He held a knife to Dustin's throat." Mike shrugged.

"I'm gonna kill him." Nancy growled.

"Relax, I doubt Troy will do anything stupid to any of us ever again." Lucas waved her off. "I mean, have you seen Mike?"

"Me?" Mike looked at him confused.

"Dude, you're a giant! You're at least three inches taller than him." Lucas pointed out. "And now that you swim, you have muscles too. I doubt Troy would dare touch you again."

"Guys, whatever plans you had for today, you might wanna rethink those." Jonathan interjected.

"Why?" Max wanted to know.

"Because the weather forecast said it's going to rain cats and dogs today until late afternoon."

"Now that sucks." Dustin huffed. "I wanted to watch the parade."

"We can watch it on TV, if they don't cancel it." Joyce told them.

"Tomorrow is forecast to be sunny, so we can go shopping on Black Friday." Jonathan added.

"What's Black Friday?" El asked.

"It's the day after Thanksgiving, where stores sell almost everything at bargaining prices, like eighty percent less or so." Max explained. "But you often have to almost fight with people for the good stuff."

"We could go the mall again, maybe I can afford the clothes you wanted me to buy." El suggested to Max.

"I'm all for it." Dustin nodded vigorously. "We can buy some of the newer video games."

"And some Dungeons and Dragons stuff." Lucas agreed.

"Then it's settled." Dustin stated. "Tomorrow is shopping day and when we see a crowd, we simply put Mike in front of us and push."

"Dude, stop it." Mike whined, but couldn't prevent a laugh.

"It's your own fault for growing so fast." Max poked out her tongue. "I mean, who's six feet at fifteen?"

"You act as if I checked a box at birth that said 'Wanna be six feet at fifteen'." Mike huffed.

"If you keep growing, you two kissing will start to look weird." Max giggled and pointed at Mike and El.

"I just jump into his arms and wrap my legs around him." El shrugged innocently, Lucas almost spitting out his juice at her comment.

"Unless you tell me you just spit out your juice because you choked on it, you're going to be in so much trouble." Max huffed.

"Uh... yeah, I choked." Lucas nodded and gave El a glare, who simply poked out her tongue at him.

"Right." Max rolled her eyes and the group went back to eating breakfast before cleaning the table to make room for the gaming stuff.

* * *

"Here it is!" Joyce smiled proudly and put the turkey on the table.

"Wow, how big is this thing?" Dustin asked, his mouth salivating.

"Twenty-two pounds." Joyce chuckled.

"And what other family will come by later to help us eat it?" Mike looked at her.

"Hey, it was the smallest they had left." Joyce defended her choice and pointed at her oldest boy and his girlfriend. "Ask them."

"It's true." Nancy confirmed. "The other ones were all closer to thirty pounds."

"I see a lot of leftovers." Lucas grinned.

"Depending on how much it is, you can take some home with you." Joyce said.

"Please do." Will pleaded. "I don't want to eat only turkey sandwiches for the next week."

"Just for this you get those anyway." Joyce smiled. "Dig in!"

Like a starving pack of wolves, the group began eating. Dustin especially ate as if he hadn't eaten in a week, grabbing one of the legs and beginning to bite off large pieces while shoving mashed potatoes and red cabbage into his mouth as well. The others were a bit more timid, Mike carefully cutting his large piece of meat into smaller pieces so he didn't have to when he began eating.

During the meal, Joyce kept her eyes on Mike and El, watching their interaction. They kept feeding each other, El grinning while holding out her fork for Mike and vice versa, interceded with pecks on the lips and a lot of touching. She felt sympathy for those two, their feelings for each other obvious as anything and also their knowledge about their upcoming separation. They were one of the regrets that she had for moving away and getting her children and El out of that town. While the kids kept eating, Joyce excused herself and went into the living room, closing the door to not have the group hear her.

"Hello?" a voice came from the speaker.

"Hello, this is Joyce Byers, is Claudia Henderson there?" Joyce asked the person. "Her son Dustin gave me this number in case of emergencies.

"Joyce?" Dustin's mother asked a few seconds later with alarm in voice. "Did something happen to my boy?"

"No, no." Joyce quickly calmed her. "Everything's fine. I just called to ask you if you were okay with Dustin staying here for two more days and have him back by Sunday. The guys have so much fun together, it wouldn't be fair to send them home so soon. I haven't told them yet, I want it to be a surprise but I have to get the permission of you and the other's parents first."

"Okay." Claudia sighed. "Tell him I love him."

"I will, thanks Claudia." Joyce said and hung up, dialing the next number.

For the next ten minutes, she called up Max's parents, who didn't seem to care if she stayed longer, then Lucas' who made Joyce promise that she made sure that their boy behaved himself, especially towards Max. Last on the list was Mike and Nancy's mother, who didn't like the fact that Mike was with a girlfriend that he had never brought home to the house but when Joyce reminded her that El would spend the two weeks during Christmas and New Years with them, Karen relented. Smiling, Joyce returned to the dining area, where the group was leaning back, holding their stomachs, Dustin even opening the button of his pants to make room for his expanding stomach.

"Misses Byers, that was delicious." Dustin sighed in content. "I can't eat another bite."

"Well, then you won't need dessert." Joyce grinned and headed into the kitchen while Mike and Jonathan were collecting the plates to bring them to the sink.

"Hey, I didn't say I wouldn't eat another bite, just that I couldn't right now." Dustin called after her. "Just give me a minute."

"You know gluttony is a sin." Max gave him an amused look.

"Pff, if god didn't want us to eat and be merry, he wouldn't have created turkey. Or pies." Dustin waved her off.

"Is that a requirement to eat that much on Thanksgiving?" El asked Mike.

"No, but I think most people like to indulge that one day they can." Mike shrugged.

"El, it's like on St. Patrick's Day, when people wear green and go drinking." Dustin told her. "They don't have to but it's a day where barely anyone looks twice at them for doing it."

"Is Christmas one of those indulgences too?" she asked.

"Well, when you come to us on Christmas, my mom will most likely cook a big Christmas dinner." Mike replied.

"It's true." Nancy nodded. "We will probably have some form of soup as appetizer, then the Christmas goose with dumplings and red cabbage and a dessert, mom usually makes some kind of pudding."

"I like pudding." El smiled, having eaten it a few times during the year she was hiding at Hopper's cabin.

"You guys are still going to play your game?" Joyce asked them when she came out of the kitchen, carrying a tray with two pies and clean plates.

"No, we finished today." Mike answered.

"But we still have two movies to watch." Will told her. "So we're keeping busy."

"That's good, what are you going to watch?" Joyce wanted to know.

"We have Back To The Future and Cocoon." Will told her.

"And I have The Thing in my room, we could watch that at the end." Jonathan suggested.

"Hey, if these guys have nightmares because of that movie, you're calming them at night." Joyce said to her oldest son.

"Mom, I doubt any movie would give them nightmares, given what we all went through in the last three years." Jonathan pointed out.

"That's true." Dustin nodded. "I mean, we fought a giant six-legged monster with way too many tongues."

"You okay?" Mike asked El, who had winced and held her leg when Dustin mentioned the mind flayer monster.

"Yeah, just memories." she nodded, leaning against his shoulder.

"Do you think the mind flayer is still alive?" Max asked around.

"I'm sure it is." Will nodded. "I mean, we simply cut the connection it had to the monster, we didn't harm him."

"And given what Billy told me when he wanted to sacrifice me to it, the mind flayer will never stop trying to get into our world." El said quietly.

"As long as the gate stays closed, that won't happen." Mike hugged her as tightly as possible in their position.

"Well, remember that the Russians want to open it for some reason." Lucas reminded them. "Who's to say what they're doing in Russia right now."

"Guys, you shouldn't dwell on these things." Joyce counseled. "Listen, I got a surprise for you."

"What?" Dustin asked. "More food?"

"No." Joyce laughed. "But what would you say if I told you that you can stay until Sunday?"

"Uh... what?" Mike was able to say after a few seconds of stunned silence.

"When I left you to eat, I called each of your parents." Joyce explained. "I asked them if they were okay if you stayed two extra nights and none had problems with it."

"Misses Byers, I love you." Mike whooped and hugged her.

"Thank you mom." El sniffed and hugged her as well and then Mike. "More time for us."

"Yeah." Mike nodded and kissed his girlfriend.

"Now, enjoy tonight, watch your movies and get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow will be a very stressful day if you really want to go shopping on Black Friday."

Everyone agreeing to this, the group enjoyed their desserts before going into the living room, where Mike and El immediately claimed the lay-z-boy again so they could cuddle during the movies.

* * *

**So, chapter 3 done. For those who think it's too timid, there will be a new issue coming up for them ^^**

**I like to call this a bottle chapter, because everything happens in the same location :D**

**Review please :)  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Boiman7000: There will be times you'll have to wait longer for a new chapter. I do write other fanfiction (though a writer's block forces me on hiatus) and I do have a job I have to go to every day. I also go in shifts, so when I have a shift that starts in the afternoon, I have some time to write in the morning but when I have the early shift, I'm brain dead afterwards, so writing will be very hard ;)**

**Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I write for my own pleasure and that of the readers.**

* * *

"That was... it was..." El stammered, barely able to form a coherent thought.

"Intense?" Mike suggested, his hand running along her stomach under the shirt.

"That would be an understatement." El chuckled and hummed contentedly, pressing her back harder against his body. "How did you know how to do this?"

"Steve." he told her. "He gave us erotic magazines to learn, as he said it."

"Like Cosmopolitan?" she asked.

"No, things like Playboy, Penthouse and Hustler." he told her, blushing when he remembered his reaction upon reading the latter and his revulsion at some of the things in the last of the three magazines.

"Maybe I should read those." she giggled and turned her head so she could kiss him. "Maybe I can learn a few things to do for you."

"I..." he stammered this time, his mind whirling with images.

"This is nice." she hummed. "I'm so glad you can stay for another two days."

"Me too." he agreed and rested his head on the pillow, breathing in her scent.

El couldn't stop smiling. After waking up, she was more than ready to mount him again to get another high but this time, he seemed to have other ideas. Since he had been spooning her, he simply turned his body a bit and let his hands roam until he had build up enough courage to touch her between her legs without ever going under her pajama bottoms.

El had hissed in surprise when his fingers had reached for it. It felt even better than when she was doing the active part and after ten seconds, her left leg had lifted, giving him more room to move. He had caressed her gently, interspersing it fast circling movements and she had groaned and moaned and begged him for more.

And what Mike had also done was look at the room. While El had been moaning in front of him, he had watched the loose items in the room, her teddy bear and their clothes, everything else being tight down this time. And when El had come close to the climax he wanted to give her, her things had begun floating again and stayed in the air until she had calmed back down.

"But hey, now we know that my powers come from orgasms." she smiled at him.

"I... uh... I don't think it's just orgasms." Mike hesitated. "I think it's when you feel a very strong emotion."

"Kali said that I had to channel my anger to be stronger." she mused.

"Kali?" he wondered why he was talking about an Indian goddess.

"My sister." she explained, which confused him even more.

"You have a sister?" Mike sat up surprised.

"No, not from my mother." El shook her head. "We were raised in the lab together. She's number eight."

"Does she have the same powers as you?"

"No, she can make people see things." El told him.

"What things?"

"Anything she wants." El giggled. "She made one of her friends see spiders crawling over his arm."

"Where is she?"

"When I saw her last, she had to flee from the police, but we were in Chicago."

"So, maybe she's still in town?" Mike asked.

"Possibly." El nodded. "But I haven't seen her once since we moved here."

"Was she the one who gave you that punk look you had when you came back?"

"Yes." she nodded. "They wanted me to find the bad men who hurt us so she could kill them."

"She wanted you to kill people?" Mike gasped, his anger rising.

"Yes." she nodded again. "But after I found one, I couldn't do it. And later that night, I took one of your old shirts and I found you and dad in the void. You were yelling about something being a trap and I knew I had to come back to save you."

"I'm glad you did." Mike sighed and laid back down, spooning her again. "I love you."

"I love you too." she smiled and grabbed his hand, lifting his arm around her waist before throwing it off again. "Wait, I have an idea!"

"About?" he asked as she sat up.

"You said that my powers may be coming from strong emotions, right?"

"It's just a theory." he shrugged. "Why?"

Giving him a short, but hard kiss, she sat on the bed and concentrated on her teddy bear. She didn't use anger or rage, she couldn't use the sexual high she felt when she got an orgasm but there was one emotion she knew was strong in her. She thought of Mike, of him giving her dry, clean clothes. Him handing her a blanket and a few pillows for the fort he had built in his basement, where she slept safely for the first time without having to fear bad men waking her and making her do things.

She thought of the first eggo waffle he gave her, leftover meatloaf and candy, showing her around his home, showing her the lay-z-boy and how happy if not a bit apprehensive she was during that time. How he hid her from his mother to keep her safe. Dressed her in a beautiful dress and a wig so other children wouldn't stare.

How he defended her from the bully and how he hugged her after she had pulled him up the cliff and revealed that she had been the one who had opened the gate that caused Will to be taken by the demogorgon. She remembered herself shouting his name after waking up in the Upside Down, the first thing in her mind going back to his house but having to run when the agents noticed her.

How he called her every day for almost a year while she was hiding in her dad's cabin. His reaction to her return, the tight hug she never wanted to end. The year of bliss afterwards. The hours upon hours of them kissing, hugging, simply spending time together and enjoying each other's presence, which had annoyed her dad so much that he had broken them up. His touches, his care, his love that he showed with every word, with every gesture, with every look.

She let all of that going through her and slowly but surely, the bear lifted into the air. El couldn't stop a tear from falling from her eye when she saw it, the bear twisting and turning in the air the she moved it. She slowly let it go back down until it rested at the top of the headboard of her bed again, sitting there with its arms forward as if it wanted to applaud.

"You did it!" Mike gasped and sat up as well, hugging her fiercely from behind.

"But it was harder than I thought it was." El sniffed, burying his head in his chest.

"But now you have a starting point." Mike tried to encourage her. "Maybe you should train a bit every day."

"You think it would help?" she asked insecure and he pushed her away so he could get off the bed to stand next to it.

"El, look at me." he said and took off his shirt, revealing his toned stomach and his bigger arms.

"You look delicious." she giggled and got on her knees, her elevation on the bed making her almost as tall as him.

"But remember how I looked before?" he pointed at himself. "Scrawny, lanky, thin arms and when I began growing faster than the others, it made the impression even worse."

"But now you look amazing." El said dreamily and felt a pang of fear that another girl would take him away from here when she wasn't with him.

"And you know why?" he smiled at her.

"Because you swim?"

"Because I swim." he nodded. "I swim three to four times a week. When I first started, I couldn't do it for more than twenty minutes, now I can swim two hours before I have to take a break."

"I can't even swim." she said dejectedly.

"My point is, that practice makes you better." he said. "And if you like to, I can teach you to swim."

"You would?" she looked at him wide-eyed.

"Yes, of course." he smiled warmly and sat back on the bed, resting his back against the headboard. "When you come over for Christmas, I can take you to the indoor pool. You just have to get a bathing suit."

"Want me to get a one-piece bathing suit or a two-piece bikini?" she giggled and swung her legs over his hips, straddling him and running her hand through his wild hair.

"I'd love to see you in a bikini but I think for the sake my sanity and professionalism, you should wear a one-piece." he chuckled and ran his hands over her thighs. "Otherwise, I doubt I could teach you swimming, the only thing you'd learn would be how to be touched and ogled at by your boyfriend in water."

"How about I wear only bikini bottoms." she bit her lip and pulled her shirt over her head, seeing his eyes bug out again. "Like this."

"I... I..." he gasped. "My god, you're so beautiful."

"So, how about it?" she grinned, even shaking her chest a bit.

"Dear god, no!" he groaned. "If you did that, you'd definitely not learn how to swim."

"Is the pool even open on Christmas?" she wondered while taking his hands and putting them on her breasts.

"The owner gave me a key, since he knows I like to swim." he shrugged and began to caress them, his crotch immediately reacting.

"Oh, so we have privacy?" she wiggled her eyebrows.

"You're going to be the death of me, you know that?" he sighed.

"Relax, I really want to learn how to swim." she hugged him tightly, which felt strange given that his hands were still covering her breasts.

Mike began kissing her shoulder, gently sucking on the skin and even running his teeth over her skin. El hissed sharpy, bending her head to the side to give him better access. Mike still couldn't believe how open she had become with him during the last two days, from taking her shirt off in front of him to dropping her pajama bottoms while her back was turned to him. And now he was having his hands on her breasts again, something he would never get tired of feeling while she allowed him to caress her skin with his lips.

El pulled away and lifted her head, smiling warmly at him. She dropped kiss on his lips and leaned backwards slightly, pulling his head forward and down. Mike got the message and took one of his hands away from her breasts and replacing it with his mouth. El hummed and held his head, feeling the gentle flickers of his tongue over her nipple and basking in the feeling that she was his girlfriend, the one girl he did this with.

Screw those other girls back in Hawkins. Let them pine for him. She was the one who had his attentions. And if someone else dared to do more than just look, she'd bring the wrath of god down on them.

* * *

"Unbelievable." Dustin commented when they entered the mall, seeing the throngs of people moving everywhere. "Mike, come here."

"Screw you." Mike laughed as the others were lining up behind him.

"Okay guys, all together." Dustin said. "Push!"

"Shut up!" Mike kept laughing but started walking, the others shoving him forward.

They managed to get through the mass of people close to the entrance and began walking through the mall, seeing the large discount signs with high numbers close to three digits. Lucas, Dustin and Will were deviating towards the gaming supply store, that had less of those signs in the windows but before Mike could follow them, El squeezed his hand and got his attention.

"Wanna come clothes shopping with me?" she asked sweetly.

"Uh... isn't that something girls do together because they don't WANT their guys around?"

"I want you around." El said. "You can point out what you'd like me to see in."

"El, you could wear a burlap sack and this one would drool about how beautiful you are." Max smirked. "I'll go with the others, you two have fun."

With a big grin, El dragged Mike away, her boyfriend looking rather uncomfortable. She surmised that it was because men in general didn't like to go shopping for things they don't want to buy, so she formulated a plan in her head how she could make the experience better for him.

"Well, well, well, if it ain't Shirley Temple." a familiar voice stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Axel." she gasped after turning around, seeing the criminal gang she had met sitting under the stairwell leading to the next level.

"Even though you ran away, it's good to see you." the man with the mohawk hair cut smiled and gave her a friendly squeeze.

"Hello Jane." Dottie and Mick hugged her for real.

"Little one." Funshine nodded to her before engulfing her in a big bear hug that lifted her two feet off the ground.

"Is Kali here?" El asked. "I need to apologize to her for leaving."

"It's okay." the familiar voice of her sister greeted her from the side before the woman herself came into view. "I can see why you had to leave."

"Guys, this is Mike, my boyfriend." El introduced her sweetie. "Mike, this is my sister Kali and her friends."

"Nice to meet you." Mike said coldly, not forgetting that this one had tried to turn his El into a killer.

"Did you tell him why you're calling me your sister?" Kali asked El.

"Yes." El nodded. "He knows."

"So, you can make people see things?" Mike asked, deciding to keep cool and not embarrass El by making a scene.

"Yep." Kali nodded.

"How does that look like?"

"Like this." Kali pointed her head to the side and Mike saw a dragon crashing through the nearest store window, breathing fiery death around the mall.

"Holy shit!" Mike gasped. "That is so cool!"

"I'm impressed." Kali said. "I thought you'd scream and run away."

"You said it's only an illusion, so..." Mike shrugged.

"And you're fine with her powers?" Kali asked him.

"She saved my life more than once with them, so yeah." Mike nodded.

"So, is everything okay with you?" Kali turned to El again.

"Not everything." El shook her head. "We had another dangerous crisis last year and my dad died. Now I live here with my guardian and her family."

"Oh god, I'm so sorry." Kali said and gave El a comforting hug.

"How is it going with you?" El asked back. "Did you get away from the police?"

"Sure, but it took a lot out of me this time." Kali nodded. "They really wanted to get us that day."

"Have you killed any other bad man since then?"

"No, we decided to collect information but otherwise lay low." Kali shook her head. "You could help us, you know? Find them?"

"No, I can't." El said. "I... lost my powers."

"What?" Kali gasped. "How did that happen?"

"I was bitten by the mind flayer..."

"The what?"

"It's a monster from a... uh... Mike?" El turned to her sweetie.

"Yeah?" he came over.

"What did you call the Upside Down?"

"It's a dark mirror dimension to ours." Mike explained. "Probably controlled by the mind flayer and inhabited by demogorgons."

"Demo... what?" Kali looked confused.

"Demogorgons." Mike clarified. "About seven feet tall, can't be harmed by bullets and their head is like a flower that opens to reveal a maw with way too many sharp teeth."

"Ouch." Kali shuddered. "You're kidding now, right?"

"A few years ago, when El fled from the lab, she accidentally opened a gate to that dimension." Mike recounted for Kali, his serious tone telling her that he wasn't kidding. "Since then, we had to close it twice to prevent the creature that controls it to come into our world."

"Wait, those news reports about the fire at Starcourt Mall in Hawkins..." Kali hesitated, the puzzle pieces falling into place.

"Yeah." Mike nodded. "We fought against a giant monster controlled by the mind flayer. Luckily it burned to ash before the fire department arrived, so nobody knew what was actually there."

"And now her powers are gone?"

"Well..." Mike didn't know if he should say it but El nodded. "Not entirely gone. But she can't use them unless she's in a heightened emotional state. And even then, her control is not a hundred percent."

"Jane, can I talk to Mike privately for a second?" Kali asked her.

"Okay." El nodded and stepped away.

"Listen, before you say anything, let me just make one thing clear." Mike talked first before Kali could. "I don't like you."

"You don't even know me." Kali retorted.

"True, but I know that you tried to turn my sweet, innocent El into a killer and I don't know if I can ever forgive you for that."

"I guess I deserve that." Kali accepted. "But just so you know, I see her as my sister, so if you hurt her in any way, I will make sure that you will live the rest of your life in your own personal hell."

"Rest assured, the day I hurt El on purpose is the day I voluntarily jump into the fires of hell and lash myself to the torture devices." Mike promised.

"Good." Kali smiled. "I can see that she loves you."

"I love her with all my heart." Mike said with full confidence. "I can't live without her. It pains me that we live apart now and can only see each other for a few days at a time."

"You're a good kid." Kali said. "Albeit freakishly tall for your age."

"Don't you start too." Mike chuckled. "I get that enough from my friends. They're calling me Lurch."

"Come on, lets go spend time with your girlfriend." Kali smiled.

"You still want clothes shopping?" Mike asked his love.

"Of course." El smiled and turned to the group. "Bye guys. Stay safe."

"Goodbye, little one." Funshine smiled, even Axel sporting a smile.

El dragged him into the clothing store she visited with Max two days earlier and saw the large bargain signs on top the various clothes hangers. Using Mike like a plow, she pushed her way to the rack where the jeans had been hanging, looking for her size and finding it, quickly grabbing the pair and handing it to her boyfriend to hold.

Several more shirts landed in Mike's arms, another set of matching bra and underwear with a flower motif, one black and one red lace bra, a pair of shorts, pajama bottoms and three skirts. She rounded with out with a sweater and a jacket for the cold weather and had to laugh when she finally turned around to Mike, seeing him carry everything with only his head visible over all her stuff.

"Come on." she giggled and led him to the changing booths.

"I'll wait outside." Mike said after setting down the clothes on the small bench inside.

"No, you can stay." she winked. "I want your direct input."

"Are you aware what you will do to me if I stay in here?" he looked at her and saw her give him a sweet smile. "Yeah, of course you are aware."

"Close the door." she breathed and took off her pants as soon as they had privacy.

"Hrhm!" he groaned as he sat down on the bench.

"What's wrong?" she asked, turning towards him.

"I can't... god, your ass has become so shapely." he sighed. "Now that I know how it feels, I wanna have my hands on it all the time."

"Go ahead." she giggled and stepped closer to him so he could put his hands on her behind and squeeze just to stop again. "What's wrong?"

"It's just... in two days, we'll be going home and I'm not gonna see you every day anymore."

"I know." she sighed. "But I'll be with you for two weeks over Christmas and New Years."

"But then it's several months where we can't see each other."

"I know." she sniffed and pressed her lips against his. "But we'll get through this. We have spring break, summer break and so on."

"God, I love you so much."

"I love you too." she smiled and stepped back. "Now, let the modeling begin."

With those innocent words, El tried on the pants, Mike whistling impressed when she twirled in front of him. Her behind was very accentuated in them and she put the jeans directly onto the yes pile. Next she wanted to try on the underwear and after taking off the jeans, the shirt and her bra, she also simply pulled down her panties, Mike almost hyperventilating when he saw her doing that. He knew that if she turned around now, he'd die for real.

Luckily for him, at least this time, she didn't, simply putting on the bra and pantie combo she had taken earlier. It was partially see-through, the flowers on it covering her private parts but everything else was visible through the fabric. El didn't really like that and put it onto the No pile after putting her regular panties back on.

Next came the other bras, Mike's bulging eyes telling her that she definitely should take them. One was a little bigger than she needed currently but she was certain that her breasts would keep growing at least a bit more so it was most likely fit later. Of the shirts, two were too small, one was too wide and the others fit perfectly. She chose two of the perfect fitting ones and the wide one, the latter to wear when she wanted something comfortable and of course for when she grew into it.

"Can you believe that all of this will cost as much as the pants alone did when I came here with Max?" El asked, pointing at the Yes pile, that now included the sweater and the jacket.

"That's the magic of black Friday." he chuckled, standing up and picking up the clothing she wanted to buy.

Knowing about the chaos that can erupt on a day like this, he held the clothing articles close to him, preventing anyone from ripping them out of his hands while El put the stuff back she didn't want. Once the waiting at the checkout was over, El handed the money over to the cashier who put it all into bags that Mike took immediately, carrying it outside with El following him.

The next stop was a shoe store, Mike groaning when El sat down on a chair and began simply looking at the shoes. It took her ten minutes before she grabbed three pairs, trying them on and walking around in them, shaking her head at every single pair. Another pair was tried on and discarded before she found one that she liked,

"What do you think?" she asked her sweetie, who looked bored.

"Honey, please don't ask me about shoes." he shrugged apologetically. "For me, they have to fit and be comfortable and unless they're in screaming colors, I don't really care about how they look."

"Okay, what do you think about the shoes now?" she asked innocently before standing right in front of him, her back turned to him, and bending down.

"Uhhhh..." he almost drooled. "You're wearing shoes?"

"Shut up!" she laughed, still amazed at her own boldness and sat down on his lap to take the shoes off again. "I think I'll take those."

"Can you afford them?" he asked and turned the price tag.

"Crap." El cursed.

"Don't worry, I'll buy them for you." Mike smiled.

"You don't have to do that." she said.

"My love, we couldn't celebrate your birthday and even though you said it was okay, I still want to buy you something." he gave her a kiss and took the shoes to the checkout, paying for them before she could say any more words of denial.

"Thank you." she grinned from ear to ear and linked her arm through his elbow, carrying the bag with the shoe carton herself since he still had three bags in his other hand.

"Hey, you finished with clothing?" Dustin asked them as they found the group sitting in the food court.

"Yeah." Mike nodded and showed them the three bags she was holding. "She really held herself back."

"Shut up!" El hit his arm playfully. "You like everything I bought."

"I do." Mike winked and gave her a kiss.

"Guys, food first, making out later." Dustin stopped them from going further. "I vote for pizza."

"How about we each get a hot dog?" Lucas suggested. "Saves us of dividing a pizza among six people."

"Or we just tell the guy to slice the pizza into twelve pieces and everyone gets two." Will added.

"Sounds good." Dustin nodded and the group agreed.

"Alright." Lucas bowed to the will of the majority. "What about the toppings?"

"Hot dogs it is then." El stated, causing everyone to laugh.

With Mike and the other guys guarding her purchases, El and Max went to the vendor, getting six large hot dogs with all the stuff that goes on them and bringing them back to the group. Everybody grabbed one and began eating, Lucas, Dustin and Will gushing over the cheap things they'd found in the gaming store and showing around their purchases while Max looked bored.

"Max, everything okay?" El asked.

"It'll soon be." Max winked. "Because Lucas and I will also go clothes shopping after lunch."

"When was that decided?" Lucas looked aghast.

"When you and the other two musketeers had an hour long discussion about which version of Princess Leia is hotter."

"Guys, seriously?" Mike looked at them. "You spent an hour talking about that even though you know nothing beats slave Leia in the golden bikini?"

"There are nuances." Lucas argued.

"Not really." Dustin shook his head. "I never heard anyone talk about Leia in the white robe."

While the group laughed, El thought about something. She knew that Mike viewed the Leia in the golden bikini as hot, she had seen as much when they had watched the Star Wars trilogy together but now, she got an idea on what to do for his birthday. While she wouldn't be with him when the day came, as much as that sucked, she could give it to him during her Christmas visit.

She only needed to get a Princess Leia costume.

* * *

**It's so weird, you know? I have a massive writer's block when it comes to my Big Bang Theory stories but for this one, the words flow out so easily and fast, that I can't even write fast enough. It has gone so far that I created a separate text file that contains passages from no less than five more chapters already...**

**But you won't get to read them anytime soon if you don't...**

**Review please :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Alright, this will probably the last chapter for a few days. I'm going to my parents tomorrow and then I have the early shift at work next week, which means I will be brain dead after working long hours after having to get up before dawn. Writing will be either impossible or it would severely hamper the quality standard I set for myself.**

**353days: What's the hotel thing supposed to mean?**

**Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I write for my own pleasure and that of the readers.**

* * *

El slowly opened her eyes, taking a deep breath and smelling the masculine scent of the man she loved. She smiled widely as she ran her hand over his stomach, gingerly and gently touching the developing muscles there, feeling their hardness, an action rewarded with a moan he gave in his sleep.

She could barely believe how fast their relationship had progressed over those last few days. It's as if they both agreed to catch up for all the time they were apart, first after their breakup and then after she had moved away. Last night, El had again taken the lead, grinding on top of him, which had clearly quickly become a favorite activity for Mike for the visual it gave him, but this time, she hadn't bothered to put her shirt back on, simply cuddling against his chest wearing just her tight pajama bottoms, which inadvertently had given him a lot of trouble falling asleep, given how his hand kept moving against her skin. Now, as she gently caressed his body, she noticed a presence in the room and she turned her head to find a smirking Max standing at the foot of the bed.

"Max?" El asked, wondering if she was dreaming or hallucinating.

"Yeah, lover girl." Max nodded.

"El?" a very sleepy Mike mumbled, his eyes not even opening but his hand beginning to roam over her chest, which luckily was hidden by the covers.

"Uh...Mike?" El gently shook him.

"Want to be on top again?" Mike breathed, his eyes still closed and the way his raspy morning voice was tingling something in her almost making her simply do it and to hell with Max.

"Mike, we're not alone." El hissed in panic when his hand moved down until it rested between her legs. "Max is here!"

"She can wait until we're done." Mike mumbled again and began moving his fingers before his eyes opened wide in panic. "WHAT?"

"Hey guys." Max gave a shit-eating grin when Mike's head finally turned.

"Jesus, Max!" Mike cursed and quickly pulled his hand away.

"I'm guessing you're looking for this?" Max kept smirking, holding El's oversized night shirt when El was moving her head left and right.

"Give me that!" El hissed and grabbed it, putting it on under the covers. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you." Max said. "It's important."

"So important that it couldn't have waited until later?" El asked, dropping the covers, now that she was clothed again.

"Mike, get out." Max ordered and watched Mike climb out of the bed after El nodded to him, seeing his naked torso for the first time since he took up swimming. "Jeez, can you make Lucas take up swimming too? You look awesome."

"Thanks." Mike mumbled as he grabbed a shirt before turned towards the door. "I'll be in the bathroom"

"You're lucky I can't control my powers." El huffed. "I would have flung you through the wall."

"El, last night, I overheard you two when I left the bathroom." Max opened. "You're not quiet."

"Oh god." El blushed.

"I have to ask." Max said seriously, sitting down on the bed. "Are you two having sex already?"

"What?" El shrieked with a whispering voice. "No! Well..."

"Well?" Max looked with wide eyes.

"He's not putting his... penis into my vagina." El clarified, blushing. "All he does is use his fingers or I sit on him and feel his erection against me through our clothes."

"El, you need to be careful, this can lead to something much more pretty quickly." Max said. "Does he get to his own climax too?"

"I don't think so." El shook her head. "According to the magazines, it should spit out stuff but he never did."

"Oh, that poor man." Max chuckled. "El, how far have you come with those magazines?"

"I know about orgasms and how to get them." El replied.

"Have you read anything regarding the male orgasm?"

"No..." El hesitated, trying to remember but failing to.

"Have you even seen Mike's penis yet?"

"No." El sighed.

"Listen, I know that Mike is deeply in love with you and would never hurt you but he's also a teenager and my guess is, given your activities, a pretty horny one." Max said. "So unless he's right now sitting in the bathroom jacking off, he might one night or morning be unable to control himself and go farther than you're ready for."

"What are you saying Max?" El wanted to know, not liking where this was going.

"Listen, Mike is doing things to make you climax, right?" Max asked. "Or lets you do things with him that make you climax?"

"Yes." El nodded.

"Don't you think it's unfair that you don't do things to make him come as well?" Max looked at her expectantly.

"I don't know how." El sniffed. "I want him to feel as good as he makes me feel but I touched him down there once and I hurt him."

"Oh... uh... what exactly did you do?" Max gasped. "Did you squeeze his thing?"

"No, I poked it when it wasn't getting hard anymore after mom came in." El explained.

"Oh dear." Max laughed.

"Max, it's not funny!" El hissed. "He told me that it's very easy to take down a guy by kicking down there, which means it's very sensitive."

"Okay, listen." Max still chuckled. "Don't poke or hit or squeeze his penis and especially not his testicles. Gently take it in your hand and rub. That's what I do for Lucas."

"You're doing this with Lucas already?" El gasped.

"Sure." Max shrugged. "I mean, we have the advantage of being able to see each other every day, so we began experimenting."

"What did you do so far?" El wanted to know.

"Apart from the touching of our intimate parts?" Max smiled. "I made him come with my hands."

"How?"

"You take it into your hands and stroke up and down." Max explained. "The tip is very sensitive."

"For how long?"

"Until he comes." Max told her. "You'll know when that happens because guys tend to get very agitated and then they ejaculate. It's a sticky mass, so you may wanna have some tissues ready."

"So you haven't had sex yet with Lucas?"

"God, no." Max shook her head. "We're too young. While there are girls who start at fourteen even, I think nobody should do it before they're sixteen."

"I could ask Nancy about it." El suggested. "Max, can I ask you a rather intimate question?"

"Aren't we talking about intimate things now anyway?" Max smirked. "What's up?"

"Do you have hair... down there?" El pointed between her legs.

"Yeah, why?" Max hesitated.

"Because of this." El said and dug a magazine out from under her bed, opening it to a certain page and handing it to her friend.

"Wow, I never thought people would shave down there." Max gasped. "Why would anyone do this?"

"According to this, it's more hygienic because fluids don't get stuck there and apparently, a lot of men like it." El shrugged.

"Wait, fluids getting stuck in there?" Max made a face and read the article. "I'll be damned. Are you thinking of doing this?"

"I really have no idea." El shrugged.

"El, let me ask you and please be honest." Max took her hands. "Do you want to have sex with Mike?"

"Yes." El nodded. "Very much so."

"Good, you're sure." Max recognized the certainty in her friend's voice. "But you still should wait at least another year."

"That long?" El sighed.

"Hey, just think about it." Max grinned. "It would be the greatest Christmas slash birthday gift for him when you tell him that you want to give him your virginity. And you wouldn't even have to pay money for it."

"That sounds... appealing." El agreed, grinning too.

"Just think about it." Max said. "Oh, and by the way."

"What?"

"When Lucas' penis is at its largest size, it's about this." Max winked, holding her fingers apart a certain distance. "If you do something with Mike's, tell me if Mike comes close before we leave."

"You're unbelievable." El laughed as Max left the room.

"All yours again, lover boy." she heard Max say before Mike returned.

"So, what was so important that I had to leave?" Mike wanted to know as he got back into bed, his breath now fresh.

"Girl talk." El shrugged and got up herself to use the bathroom.

Once she was done in there, she used the time until breakfast to snuggle with her sweetie.

* * *

"Jesus!" Dustin cursed, throwing up his arms in defeat before burying his face in his hands. "I can't make the rent."

"I'll take everything you have." El giggled, holding out her hands. "And you go directly to the poor house."

"You know, for a girl who didn't go to school for the first fourteen years of her life, you play a mean game of Monopoly." Lucas commented. "Mike, what do you think? Doesn't El play awesome?"

"I'm not speaking to her right now." Mike moped.

"Never thought you were such a sore loser." El giggled and stood up to get behind Mike and drop a kiss on his cheeks.

"I'm really not." Mike huffed. "But you destroyed me."

"Guess you never lost before going around the board twice." Max smirked.

"It's freaky." Mike complained. "As if she controlled my dice so I always land on her properties and never on mine. If I didn't know she couldn't use her powers that way currently, I'd suspect her of cheating."

"You're lucky that I love you that much, otherwise I would be very displeased at your lack of trust." El poked out her tongue at him and leaned her head in.

"Yeah, yeah." Mike smirked and pursed his lips when El gave him the kiss she wanted to have.

"Guys, you're gonna finish soon?" Joyce asked as she came into the room. "I ordered the table for six o'clock."

"I think we can forfeit the game anyway." Lucas huffed, looking at the large pile of game cash in front of El. "She's cleaning us out left and right."

They left the house and got into the two cars before Joyce drove off, leading the way while Jonathan followed her in his car. After a twenty minute drive, they arrived at the pizzeria, the large All You Can Eat sign in the window denoting tonight's culinary destination. Joyce led them to the large table she had reserved for them, grabbing a few menus for the kids to choose their meals from.

"Oh my, I'll get the largest pizza they gave with every available topping." Dustin salivated.

"Ew!" Max made a disgusted face. "There's toppings you can't combine."

"I'm gonna order the smallest pizzas they have." Mike smiled.

"Why?" Lucas asked. "This is all you can eat, gorge yourself."

"Because then I can have a variety of different pizzas." Mike shrugged. "Not just one big one, but I can try calzone, margherita and so on."

"Dude, we're in Chicago, we have to eat a Chicago-style pizza." Nancy pointed out.

"Who says I'm not going to eat one of those?" Mike smiled.

"Mike, can we share?" El asked.

"Of course." Mike nodded, pressing a kiss to her lips.

"Dude, that's just wrong." Dustin shook his head.

"What is?" Mike wondered.

"Sharing your food?"

"What's so wrong about that?" El asked.

"It just is." Dusting threw his arms up in surrender.

"Don't listen to him." Mike chuckled. "Dustin doesn't like to share food."

"I think he gets it from his mom." Lucas grinned.

"Shut up!" Dustin huffed.

"You guys ready to order?" one of the guys working in the parlor came over.

The group gave their order, Dustin keeping his promise of ordering the largest pizza possible while Max and Lucas mirrored what El and Mike had planned. Will ordered a small one for himself as well to try more later, Nancy and Jonathan not even ordering a pizza but something else and Joyce opting for the Mix-it-yourself salad.

"So, this is the last night." Lucas said, a bit morose.

"Yeah." El nodded sadly, wrapping her arm around Mike's waist. "I can't believe how fast the time went by."

"You'll be seeing each other soon enough again." Max pointed out. "And then you'll possibly be glad that you can go back home."

"I don't think so." El shook her head.

"If I could, I'd want to live with her." Mike stated.

"Really?" El gasped, getting teary.

"Of course." Mike nodded. "I love you and want to be with you forever."

"Forever." she smiled lovingly at him, wrapping her fingers around his.

"If you guys start making out in here now, we're going to disavow you as friends." Will grinned.

"Guys, I think our orders are coming." Joyce pointed at the two waiters approaching them, one carrying a large wooden last.

"For the love of all that's good and holy!" Dustin gaped when the waiter put the large slat in front of him. "I never thought a pizza could be this big."

"Bon appetit." Mike grinned, taking a slice of his small one, El taking another. "Dustin, if you finish this, I'll get you a date with Jennifer Hayes."

"Are you bullshitting me now?" Dustin looked at him with wide eyes.

"No, I work with her, remember?" Mike smiled. "We got talking one day and she admitted that she kinda likes you."

"Okay." Dustin closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. "Be water my friend. A true martial stomach doesn't become tense, but ready. When the pizza comes, the stomach expands."

"Dude, what other Bruce Lee quotes will you mangle before you take your first bite?" Mike laughed.

"Hey, I want that date, so I need to clear my mind." Dustin waved him off and bit into the first slice of his thick pizza.

As the group ate their food, with Joyce returning with a large plate of salad that included lots of everything that wasn't spicy, Dustin bravely ate his culinary challenge. Jonathan and Nancy ordered another bowl of food, the first having been a chili stew while El and Mike shared their second pizza with Lucas and Max still on their first and Will slowly eating his while watching his friend fighting with his order.

"You okay there, Dustin?" Will grinned, now on the last slice of his second pizza while El and Mike had their fourth already and Max and Lucas were digging into their Chicago-style pizza.

"There are no limits. There are only plateaus but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." Dustin mantra'd, eating the last bite of his current slice, his pizza now half finished.

"At least he didn't butcher that quote." Lucas shrugged and kept eating his.

At last, El and Mike ordered their Chicago-style pizza, receiving a large mass that looked like a pie with meat. Mike cut it like a cake and lifted the first slice out of it, handing it to El who bit a piece off, nodding her approval. Knowing that they couldn't finish it alone after eating four pizzas already, Mike offered a piece to Will and one to Joyce, both taking one.

"You must have complete determination." Dustin tried to keep his cool as he breathed hard while holding the last slice, sweat pouring from his brow. "A real fighter may be beaten up but it will not stop him from carrying out his objective."

"Dude, what are you doing?" Lucas laughed. "What objective?"

"Date with Jennifer Hayes." Dustin groaned and bit a large piece off the slice, taking his time chewing.

The others finished their food before Dustin bit off the next piece, their friend chewing what felt like five hundred times. El could see that he looked as if he was ready to throwing up yet Dustin kept eating, pushing the last piece into his mouth and chewing it quickly before swallowing it and bending over, holding his stomach and desperately trying to keep it in.

"I'm... free... on... most... Saturdays." Dustin said, taking a breath after each word as if voicing it was a chore.

"Noted." Mike chuckled.

"I think we'll have to sit here a while longer." Joyce smirked. "If Dustin gets up now, he'll surely hurl."

"Was everything to your liking?" the waiter asked, arriving at their table to gather their plates.

"Yes." Dustin squeaked. "Was delicious."

"It was." El nodded but kept looking at her friend to see if he was alright.

It took Dustin ten more minutes before he managed to sit up again, the pinching in his stomach down to a bearable level. As Joyce paid, he quickly left the parlor, sucking in deep breaths to calm his roiling stomach. The others weren't that much better off, everyone holding their stomachs, feeling the massive amount of food pushing against their stomach walls and making them burp, taking their every ounce of strength not to bring more than air up when doing it.

"You guys ready to get back?" Joyce smiled, feeling well since she only ate a gigantic salad.

"Give us a minute." El groaned. "Mike, I hate you."

"Why?"

"You made me eat five pizzas."

"It's not like you ate five whole pizzas, I may even have eaten more than you."

"Yeah, but you're probably turning all that food into another inch of height, so you're clear." she said and was unable to stop herself from letting out a long burp deep from her stomach.

"Who let the Elk escape." Lucas laughed.

"Shut up." El moped.

"Guys, I'm really sorry." Dustin groaned.

"For what?" Max wondered but Dustin simply walked five steps away from them into the downwind direction before he let out a very long fart.

"Ew, Dustin!" Max whined, everyone taking another step away from him.

"I'm sorry that my stomach is trying to digest this morass of pizza toppings, cheese and coke." Dustin called from his spot. "Would you rather I do this in the car?"

"No!" Nancy and Jonathan said together.

"Or later in bed?"

"No!" Will shouted in panic. "Dude, if I smell even the remotest smell of whatever it is you're baking in there, you'll sleep in the bathtub."

"Duly noted." Joyce laughed. "Can we go home now? You guys need to get to the train station tomorrow morning."

With heavy steps, the group got back to the cars and into them. Jonathan took care to drive as slow as he could and avoid pot holes to prevent Dustin from ejecting more foul swamp gas from his butt but at some point, the group piled into the Byers home again. And once everyone had showered, they all simply fell into bed.

And for the first time since he got here, El couldn't bring herself to either mount him or ask him to get her another orgasm with his hands. She simply dropped into bed and lay awake, her stomach murmuring and gurgling, Mike pretty much the same. To her annoyance though, he fell asleep after half an hour, leaving her to simply watch him sleep while she tried to digest all that food.

And she would lie if it didn't look as if Mike was growing another inch in front of her eyes.

* * *

"Nancy, can I ask you something?" El took Mike's sister to the side while the boys packed their things together.

"Sure." Nancy nodded and followed El into Jonathan's bedroom, closing the door behind them. "What's up?"

"How old were you when you lost your virginity?" El asked straight away, Nancy almost choking on her own breath.

"Uh... well... I was sixteen." Nancy hesitated, guessing were this was going. "And before you say anything else, you should know that you shouldn't do it any time before that."

"Who did you do it with?" El wanted to know. "Jonathan?"

"No, it... it was Steve actually." Nancy chuckled sadly.

"Do you regret it?"

"No." Nancy shook her head. "Steve was always nice to me and his subsequent behavior showed me that he's still a good guy. Though he wasn't the right guy. I like him but I don't love him."

"I love Mike." El stated resolutely. "With all my heart."

"And I know he loves you even more if that's possible." Nancy smiled. "I mean, he took up swimming and became so good in just eight weeks that he was able to take a job as a lifeguard, just so he can earn some money for those times you come visit or he comes here."

"Doesn't that mean if we both want to have sex, that we could?" El asked.

"Yes, but again, you're teenagers. And just from a legal point of view, the age of consent in Indiana is sixteen and I think here in Illinois it's seventeen, so you should wait until that time just to be safe from the danger of someone outing you out to the authorities." Nancy counseled.

"Someone would do that?" El gasped.

"You have heard from the others that girls are starting to take notice when it comes to Mike, right?" Nancy asked.

"Yes." El nodded, clenching her teeth at the thought.

"Imagine one of those girls being spiteful enough to say that if she can't get him, you shouldn't have him either. If you both go to jail..." Nancy left the argument open-ended.

"I understand." El agreed. "Okay, then I guess we'll have to keep to the other stuff Max and those magazines taught me."

"Ew!" Nancy made a face. "No more information please, I'd like to sleep without nightmares."

"You're doing the nasty with Jonathan already, why would me and Mike doing something less serious cause you nightmares?"

"Because Mike is my little brother and he'll always will be." Nancy laughed. "Come on, lets go. We need to get to the train station."

"Alright." El said sadly, knowing that the time had come, no matter how much she wished that the weekend would never end.

She helped Mike carry his luggage, holding a second, smaller bag that were filled with the clothes he bought during his stay here. They both got into the backseat of Jonathan's car so they could cuddle, even though he felt quite uncomfortable with his long legs stuffed into the small space between the backseat and the passenger seat in front of him.

Nancy was sitting in front, the other three were being driven by Joyce in her car. El laid her head on his legs, Mike gently caressing her face and she tried not to cry at the thought of him leaving. The drive to the train station was over way too fast and the group piled out of the cars, carrying their luggage to the correct track where the train was already waiting.

"I don't want you to go." El sniffed, hugging Mike fiercely.

"I don't want to leave." Mike sighed, holding her tight.

"But you have to." she knew.

"Four more weeks and we'll have two weeks for each other." Mike told her and after taking her face into his palms, gave her a gentle kiss.

Not to be denied, she pressed her mouth on his, invading his mouth with her tongue and she could care less about the snickering and groaning from their friends. Mike managed to avoid resting his hands on her butt, knowing that it go too far while being in the open, especially with Joyce standing close by. He knew that she probably wouldn't react like Hopper had but he didn't want to risk it.

"Last boarding call!" the train attendant shouted.

With a heavy heart, she let Mike go, watching him climb into the train car, his head immediately sticking out the window. He leaned down as far as he could to give El a last kiss before the attendant blew into his whistle after which train began moving.

"I left something for you in your room." Mike shouted as the distance between them grew.

"And I left something for you in your bag!" she shouted back, running past him. "Don't open it until you're in your room!"

"Will do!" she barely heard, the distance between them now far and a few seconds later, his head was nothing but a dot in the distance.

With a heavy sigh, and wiping a tear from her eye, she got into Joyce's car this time, Will driving with Jonathan. Joyce could feel her distress and decided to remain quiet, only putting her hand on El's leg as a sign of sympathy. Once they were home, El returned to her room to see what Mike had left for her and she gave an emotional chuckle, seeing the three shirts, two button-down and one regular.

Holding one to her nose and taking a deep breath, she decided to postpone the Leia costume for another year. If she dressed up like his fantasy figure, she'd want it to lead to more than just over the clothes action. But given what Max had told her, she also thought about learning more about what to do with either clothes on or being naked but without doing actual intercourse. She grabbed the book Max had gotten her the day before and opened it on a page Max had highlighted for her.

"Hmmm." she hummed as she read the article and looked at the accompanying pictures. "Blowjob."

* * *

**Well, what do you think? ^^**

**Review please :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Stranger records: I know but I thought that given that they were teenagers, they wouldn't know the exact meaning, so I left it like that. I even ignored the close-in-age exemption thing ^^**

**grievesforyou: begiging? :D was that supposed to be beginning or begging? :D Seriously though, grammar like that hurts my eyes :D**

**Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I write for my own pleasure and that of the readers.**

* * *

"Welcome home guys." Karen greeted her two children as they entered the house, hugging them both. "How was your weekend in Chicago?"

"Over way too fast." Mike said dejected and walked up the stairs to his room.

"What's with him?" Karen wondered, looking at Nancy.

"He's missing El." Nancy told her mom.

"I thought his girlfriend's name was Jane?" Karen looked at her dumbfounded. "She was the chief's adopted daughter, right?"

"Yeah." Nancy nodded, inwardly cursing for her faux pas. "It's a shortening of her middle name, Eleanor."

"Oh, I didn't know that, that's sweet." Karen smiled. "But please tell me something. I never met this girl but Mike seems head over heels in love with her."

"You're going to meet her in a few weeks." Nancy interrupted.

"I know but what's she like?" Karen asked. "Is there something I should know?"

"Not really." Nancy shrugged. "She's a very sweet girl, very polite but she can be very blunt at times."

"Blunt?"

"Yes, her mother homeschooled her until she, I mean her mother, became very ill and couldn't care for Jane anymore." Nancy explained. "That unfortunately led to Jane developing a lack of social skills and while she has come far since then, she sometimes don't know that she shouldn't say certain things out loud."

"So, if she was raised by her mother, how did Chief Hopper ended up adopting her?" Karen wanted to know and Nancy was at a loss for words.

"Her dad and the Chief were best friends in the army." Mike came to rescue, coming into the kitchen to get some juice. "Her dad was killed in Vietnam and the Chief promised to keep an eye on them. When Jane's mom then became ill, the Chief offered to adopt her and it was granted."

"That was very noble of him." Karen admitted and Nancy gave Mike an impressed look at how easily he had spun the story. "Mike, what's going on with your hair?"

"I stopped combing it flat in the morning." Mike shrugged, pulling on one of his locks. "Jane loves it."

"I thought she preferred El." Karen wondered, looking suspicious at her two oldest children, Mike looking sharply at Nancy.

"Don't worry Mike, I told mom already that her middle name is Eleanor and she prefers El."

"Oh, okay." Mike nodded and gave Nancy a look of gratitude. "I didn't want to confuse you, mom."

"It's alright." Karen accepted. "Have you put your clothes into the laundry already?"

"I'll do that now." Mike said and went back upstairs, Nancy directly bringing her luggage to the basement to empty it.

A minute later, Mike followed her down into the basement with his luggage, taking out his used clothing and putting them onto the respective piles for colors and whites. Upending the bag at the end to make sure that all the socks were out, he returned upstairs and closed the door to his room, grabbing the microphone of his Cerebro, activating the machine and waiting until it showed readiness.

"El, do you copy?" he asked into the microphone.

"Mike?" the voice of his love came from the speakers. "Did you get home safe?"

"Yes, we're here." Mike sighed. "God, I miss you."

"I miss you two." El said sadly. "Did you find my surprise in your bag?"

"Uh... no, I didn't actually." Mike told her. "I just took out my clothes to put them into the laundry but I couldn't find anything else. Or was it a piece of clothing?"

"Oh, no, I put it into the other bag with the clothes you bought here." she replied.

"Wait, let me check." Mike said and picked up the second bag, opening it and taking out the new shirts and the swim trunks he had bought before finding an envelope.

"You got it?" El's voice asked.

"Got it." he spoke. "Wait, let me put on the headset, so I have my hands free."

He connected the headset to the Cerebro and sat on his bed, opening the envelope and revealing several pictures. It showed El in a changing booth, wearing various items of clothes and posing in presenting and sometimes sensual fashion. When he got to the end, he choked on his own spit and leaned forward, feeling heat move down his body and end inside his crotch, his erection painfully pushing against his pants.

"Oh my god, you're killing me." he groaned into the mic.

"You like them?" he could hear El grin.

"I love them." he sighed. "I will have to hide those last ones but they're my favorite."

"I'm so happy you like them." she sighed in relief. "I was a bit apprehensive about the last ones."

"Are you kidding?" he gaped with wide eyes at the picture. "You're so beautiful!"

He couldn't take his eyes of those pictures. He thought seeing her in that wonderbra was amazing but the next set of pictures were polaroids and showed her without a bra on at all, some with her covering her breasts with her hands and others with her boldly showing her naked torso. The last few showed her naked from behind, and the thought of how those perfect cheeks felt in his hands almost making him climax just from looked at them.

"I have a question regarding those pictures of you in the wonderbra." he said.

"Hit me." she retorted.

"Who took them and more importantly, who developed them?" he wanted to know.

"Why do you ask?" she asked and he could hear her smile.

"Who saw you like that?"

"Are you jealous?"

"No!" he huffed but knew she wasn't fooled. "Yes! You're mine and only I should get to see you like that."

"What about a doctor?"

"Okay, they can too, if necessary." he conceded. "So, who took these?"

"Max took those where I am in the changing booth." El explained, both touched and turned on by his possessive attitude. "At first I didn't want to but she said she would do it too as a gift for Lucas. We had Nancy develop them. And the last ones I did myself in the bathroom."

"So you two frolicked around in a changing booth half-naked?"

"Not completely half-naked, at least not me." El giggled. "The same changing booth that you rubbed my ass in."

"God, I miss you." he repeated.

"You sure you're not just missing my ass?"

"And your breasts." he added. "The rest is not important."

"Hey!" she gasped, knowing that he was only kidding but enjoying the banter. "Just for that, I will dance half-naked for you but you're not allowed to touch me."

"You wouldn't be that evil, would you?" he gasped in horror at the thought.

"Try me, lover boy." El laughed.

"No thanks, Shirley Temple." he joined in her mirth. "How did that name came about anyway?"

"I think because of my hair at the time." El shrugged, even though he couldn't see it. "And the name stuck apparently."

"So, what are you doing right now?" Mike asked.

"I'm sitting in my room, doing homework." El replied.

"You had homework?"

"Yeah, creative writing class." El confirmed. "And I'm doing it while wearing one of your shirts."

"Ah, so you found them." he chuckled.

"And I'm wearing absolutely nothing underneath it." El added, causing Mike to groan loudly. "Did a moose get into your room?"

"You are evil, you know that?" he whined while El laughed.

"Maybe you should do something about it when I come over on Christmas." El giggled and Mike was kinda relieved right now that she wasn't in the room since he had to open his pants to relieve the pressure his erection caused against his pants, his manhood now sticking out of there like the shift stick in a car.

"Yeah, pure evil." he huffed, his mind whirling with images of things he could do with a naked El. "Damn hormones."

"What was that?" El's voice asked and he cursed, not realizing that he had his finger on the transmitter.

"Uh, nothing." he quickly said and put the more lurid pictures away, trying to find a place to hide them where his mother couldn't find them accidentally. "I'm just trying to figure out where to put those pictures."

"Is that so hard?"

"If I could, I would frame them and display them proudly on my nightstand but that might not be a good idea." Mike chuckled. "And my mom puts the laundry into my cabinets and drawers."

"Under the bed?" El suggested.

"She cleans there." Mike said. "Oh, got an idea."

"Where?"

"I just put them into the picture frames that I already have here." he grinned at his ingeniousness. "Hide them behind the pictures that are already in there."

"Nice." El laughed. "Hide them in plain sight."

"So to speak." he agreed.

"MICHAEL?" his mothers loud voice yelled through the door, making him quickly stuff his penis back into his pants, pulling up his zipper just in time when Karen knocked twice and opened the door. "You want some dinner? I have heated the casserole leftovers with noodles."

"Wow, that sounds delicious." a voice startled Karen.

"What the... who was that?" she asked.

"That was El." Mike chuckled. "On the radio."

"Hi, Misses Wheeler." El's voice came through the radio.

"Uh... hi?" Karen was unsure how to respond.

"You need to talk into this." Mike said and handed her the handheld microphone.

"Hello?" Karen tried again.

"I can hear you." El said.

"So, you're Jane, or El as Nancy told me?" Karen asked.

"Yes, my friends call me El..." El hesitated, not knowing how much Mike had told her about the name.

"No reason to be embarrassed, I think Eleanor is a nice name." Karen said, calming El.

"Thanks." El coughed and pulled her knees to her body, even though Karen couldn't see her but sitting on her bed with only Mike's shirt covering her body while talking to his mother suddenly made her feel self-conscious.

"Mom, here's a few pictures Max took of her when they were shopping." Mike held the non-sexy pictures out for Karen to take. "So you have a face to the voice."

"You're a beautiful girl, El." Karen said, smiling at the happiness her son's girlfriend showed in those pictures.

"Thank you, Misses Wheeler." El said timidly.

"So, you're still coming here for two weeks over Christmas and New Years?"

"Yes?" El tried to say but couldn't stop herself from voicing it like a question. "If you are okay with it."

"Oh, of course I am, since I really want to meet the girl that made my boy take up swimming four times a week." Karen smiled. "I just wanted to know in advance if you have any food preferences and more importantly, allergies that I should be aware of."

"She loves eggos." Mike interjected. "So you could get those and she'll be happy."

"Shut up, Mike." El laughed.

"Yes, dear." Mike grinned.

"Oh, you two are so cute and I am impressed at how well you have Michael under control." Karen smiled.

"Well, I don't have any allergies and I have yet to find a meal I don't like." El told her, if it was up to her, future mother-in-law.

"Good." Karen nodded. "It was nice talking..."

"El, can you help me with something?" another voice came from the speakers.

"Right, mom, in a minute, okay?" El's voice came back. "I'm talking to Mike and Misses Wheeler."

"Oh, can I talk to her for a second?" Joyce's voice came through more clearer now. "Alone?"

"Mike, I'll talk to you later, after you ate." El said and signed off, quickly leaving the bed and grabbing some pants.

"Michael?" Karen looked at her son, who nodded.

"I'm going to the kitchen." Mike nodded and left the room.

"He's gone Joyce, what did you want to talk to me about?" Karen said into the microphone, feeling it weird to talk to someone like that.

"Listen, when Jane joins you during Christmas, do yourself a favor and let her and Mike sleep in his room." Joyce opened without preamble.

"I don't think that's a good idea..." Karen hesitated.

"Karen, they have slept in the same bed while the boys and Max were here." Joyce chuckled. "Believe me, if you give her Nancy's room, you will find them both in her bed or his every morning anyway."

"Joyce, are they already having..."

"Oh, no!" Joyce quickly shut that down. "I mean, I don't know for certain but they don't give off that we-have-done-it vibe."

"Thanks for the info." Karen chuckled. "I guess I will have to have the talk with Michael at some point in the near future though."

"Well, you should have that regardless of him having a girlfriend." Joyce chuckled. "I'll leave you to it."

"And you're still sure to take Nancy during Christmas?" Karen asked. "And why isn't Will coming down too? Or is he staying at another house?"

"Of course I'll have Nancy." Joyce confirmed. "And as for Will, I don't quite know. He said he wanted to spend Christmas here this year."

"Well, don't let me keep you with whatever you needed El for." Karen said. "Goodbye Joyce."

"Oh, you know about Jane's nickname then?" Joyce returned. "Have a nice evening, Karen."

Karen put the microphone down and left her son's room, finding him and Nancy in the kitchen, eating the casserole she had made for Lunch. Ted was asleep on his lay-z-boy, as usual and she sighed at the thought of the type of romance her boy seemed to have with his girlfriend. She thought about her almost transgression with Billy Hargrove, who had died in the fire at the Starcourt Mall that had taken so many lives, young El's adoptive father among them.

"Delicious as usual, mom." Mike complimented his mother. "What did Misses Byers want?"

"She just told me that I shouldn't bother putting you and El in separate rooms since you will spend the night in the same bed anyway." Karen smiled, watching Mike choke on his food and cough hard.

"Breath." Nancy chuckled, hitting him on the back a few times.

"Nothing happened, mom!" Mike quickly said to avoid his mom getting the wrong ideas.

"Still, I think we should have the talk later." Karen told him.

"Uh... you mean the sex talk?" Mike blushed and Nancy looked away, grinning. "That won't be necessary."

"Why not?"

"Steve Harrington already gave us guys the talk." Mike told the half-truth, since even though Steve did tell them all about sex, he also gave them magazines to learn by themselves plus a pretty instructing book.

"Oh, bless that boy." Karen whispered, giving a silent breath of relief and got up, walking into the living room and looking at her sleeping husband.

Two hours later, Mike was getting ready for bed when his father entered his room. It was such a rare occurrence that Mike didn't quite know what to say to him, since he barely talked to his dad anyway due to Ted's penchant to being glued to his lay-z-boy whenever he was home. Mike sat on the bed, looking expectantly at his father, who sat down on Mike's desk chair and looked at his boy.

"Listen, your mother told me that your girlfriend is coming over on Christmas." Ted started. "She told me that you said that you loved her."

"Yes?" Mike asked, wondering where he was going with this.

"I just wanted to make sure that you know what you're saying." Ted sighed. "I was a teenager once, I know what it feels to think you're in love when you're actually not."

"Dad, don't worry." Mike interjected. "I know enough about love to know that I am in love and I know that my feelings for El are a lot different than yours for mom."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Ted leaned back, surprised at Mike's statement.

"I know that I want to spend the rest of my life with El." Mike said resolutely. "I want to be with her every minute. I want to hold her whenever I can. I want to kiss her all the time. I want to start a family with her when the time comes. I want her to be my wife and I want to grow old with her."

"Why do you think me and your mother are different than what you just described?" Ted asked, genuinely confused. "I love your mother."

"Dad, you know what we see when we look at you?"

"Tell me." Ted looked intrigued.

"We see you go to work, never kissing mom goodbye." Mike said, lifting a finger to count. "We see you come home just to get into your lay-z-boy and watch TV until mom has finished making dinner. Then we eat and as soon as we're done, you go back to your chair, watch TV and more often than not, you fall asleep. And if mom wasn't waking you so you could shower and go to bed, you'd sleep all night on that chair. I can't remember a day when you two were kissing. I haven't seen you buy her something nice just because and not because it's her birthday or Christmas or some kind of anniversary. You never go out on dates or..."

"Okay, I see your point." Ted threw up his arms, each of Mike's words hitting him like knifes. "Good night, Michael."

"Night, dad." Mike nodded and watched Ted leave.

As Ted walked to the bathroom, he thought about what his son had just told him. He realized that Michael had been right, that he never really showed his feelings to his wife other than the way he cared for their children. He thought back to his own childhood. His father never really showed any form of emotion to his mother, yet he knew that they loved each other.

His dad simply showed it by working hard to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table and Ted had grown up thinking that this was the way a husband should show his feelings towards his family. But maybe in today's times that wasn't enough anymore. He returned to the bedroom and found his wife already sleeping in bed, joining her and looking at the back of her head, the blond hair spread out behind her.

The next morning, when Karen woke up after Ted had already left for work, she found a single red rose in the bed with a note attached to it with a string.

_Yesterday, Mike told me that I'm not expressing my feelings for you the way I should. So this rose is me trying to say that I want to do better and asking for some more patience. - T_

A tear forming in her eye, she walked briskly into Mike's room, finding her son packing his schoolbag for the day. She grabbed him and peppered his cheeks with kisses, hugging him tightly while he tried to squirm out of her grip.

"Ew, mom!" he whined. "What's gotten into you?"

"You are such a special boy." Karen gushed and left him alone, Mike only looking confused at her departing form.

"Women!" he huffed and left the house to go to school.

* * *

"Trish, you're getting an F." their teacher, Mister Bollocks, said as he was handing out their creative writing essays they had to write over Thanksgiving. "You didn't do your homework."

"What?" Trish shrieked. "But I handed in my essay on Monday like everyone else."

"But you didn't write it." Mister Bollocks stated. "To that end, Jane, you're getting an A+ for yours and another A for the one you wrote for Trish."

"But..." Trish began again but the teacher was having none of it.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Mister Bollocks asked loudly. "A person's writing is like a fingerprint. And I know the way you write and I know the way Jane writes. And just from the style alone I know that she wrote this essay for you and even though it looks as if she put this together in an afternoon, its quality is still above and beyond."

El liked Mister Bollocks, even though the students made fun of his name, given that it was the British word for nonsense. His first name was Norman, which gave his name an even better meaning because when his first name was shortened to its first two letters, it translated into No Nonsense, which was an exact description of his attitude. He was almost frighteningly fair but he had no qualms about pointing out stupidity when he saw it.

"You can't do that!" Trish gaped. "I'll tell my parents!"

"By all means." Mister Bollocks shrugged. "You think I'm scared of your father?"

"You should be scared of her mother." a boy in the class spoke up. "If she takes a run at you, she'll flatten you against the wall with her bulk."

"Screw you, asshole!" Trish shouted at the boy while the rest laughed.

"Silence!" their teacher shouted. "There won't be any of this juvenile crap in my class. Now, open your books to page one-forty."

El did as he told and opened the book, grinning against the page at the joke the boy did. Trish was one of the girls who were part of what Mike called the bitch squad, girls who were pretty and formed an arrogant group that thought that everyone should bow down to them. She never understood why they would feel the need to do it.

Mike told her every time he saw that she was beautiful and that was enough for her. She never felt the need to hear other boys tell her that, though some in the school already did it. She just thanked them and kept walking, telling the more persistent ones that she had a boyfriend and that they were wasting their time. So far all of them had taken the hint when she never reacted to anything they tried to impress her, especially during P.E. class, except in track and field, where El had quickly shown that nobody could beat her in that.

"You stupid bitch!" Trish cornered her at her locker after the class was over. "You wrote this like you did on purpose to get me into trouble."

"You wanted an essay, I gave you an essay." El shrugged, remembering the day Trish and her group had forced her to do it and El being too inexperienced in school politics to refuse.

"Don't you walk away from me, you whore." Trish growled when El turned to leave.

"Really?" El looked at her. "Whore? I'm not the one who's trying to get into the pants of every member of the football team. Now leave me alone."

"You think you're better than me just because you have a boyfriend?" Trish followed her through the hallway, other students wisely making room but watching the movie that was unfolding.

"Better?" El looked at her while she kept walking. "No. Happier? Yes."

"Lets see how happy you'll be after I drag that boyfriend of yours into my bed and show him what a real woman..." Trish started, causing heat to flare up inside El before the light fixture above them suddenly fell down, directly on Trish's head who went down with blood dripping out of the lacerations she received them the broken light bulb.

As her posse and other students screamed in panic and teachers came running, El quickly left the scene, running out of the school and behind it to the dumpsters, hiding from view and crying. She never wanted to hurt Trish but as soon as that girl said the thing about Mike, the rage inside El pushed forward and her thought of wanting this girl to get what was coming to her led to the lamp coming down.

She was dangerous! Could she in good conscience allow Mike to remain her boyfriend? She thought about running away, away from everything, from Joyce and Will and Jonathan and even from Mike. But when his smiling face came into her head, she couldn't. She didn't want to. She was tired of running, she wanted a life. A life with Mike, who loved her and who had loved her with her powers and without.

Screaming in frustration, she kicked the trash container in front of her. To her shock, the large and heavy object flew a hundred feet away, landing on the grass and burrowing a ditch into the grass. Eyes wide, El started running, quickly leaving the scene before anyone could see her or what she has done.

She really needed to fully learn how to control her powers again.

* * *

"Hey mom, hey dad." Dustin greeted the pair working at the arcade this time.

"Steve, our children are back again." Robin called to her friend, who came over.

"Ah, the incomplete party." Steve chuckled, Mike's face turning sad at that, given that El wasn't here. "Where are the others?"

"Lucas and Max are making out, even though they're saying that they are doing homework." Mike shrugged.

"Steve, look at that." Robin grinned. "Our boy has grown up so much."

"Yeah, a year more and we may have to buy him new clothes." Steve chuckled.

"Jesus, you're tall for your age." Robin shook her head.

"What are you two doing here?" Mike asked. "I thought Keith was doing the arcade while you had to stay in the video store."

"Nah, since Robin got him a date, which he bombed by the way, she's the one writing the schedules for the next two months." Steve explained.

"Yeah, though we let him into the arcade two days a week too." Robin added. "So, how was your trip to Chicago."

"Great." Dustin said. "And fun."

"Too short." Mike sighed.

"Aw, our boy is in love." Robin cooed and wrapped her arms around Steve's midriff. "Isn't that cute."

"Yeah, next year he'll ask us about his first time."

"Shut up!" Mike huffed but smiled at the thought of having his first time with El.

"Out of the way, nerd!" a familiar voice interrupted them, Mike closing his eyes.

"Walk around, Troy." Mike said, not in the mood for the bully.

"Uuuh, the nerd has teeth now, has he?" Troy scoffed. "Where's you bodyguard?"

"Get the hell away from me." Mike yelled. "Unless you wanna piss your pants again."

"You little shit!" Troy yelled right back. "You thing just because your tall now that I'm scared of you?"

Troy took a run at Mike who decided that he had enough of the guy. Instead of evading Troy's run or running away himself, he simply put his arm forward, balling his hand into a fist and watching Troy run right into it. His fingers hurt like hell but Troy had it worse, Mike feeling more than hearing the crunch that resulted from Troy's impact.

"OW!" Troy screamed and fell down, blood running from his nose.

"Okay, that's it." Robin said and grabbed a tissue, handing it to Troy. "Get out. You're banned from this establishment for a year."

"What?" Mike shrieked. "That's not fair, I didn't do anything."

"Not you." Robin told him and pointed to the still prone Troy. "Him."

"You're banning me?" Troy asked aghast, sitting up. "Didn't you see what he did?"

"Yes, and we also saw what you did." Steve said and handed Mike an ice pack for his fingers. "Now get out before you get blood on the carpet."

"That was so cool." Dustin whooped once Troy had left the arcade.

"Mike, I'm very disappointed." Robin said. "Violence is never a solution."

"I know." Mike sighed, not having thought that the result would be like this.

"But I'm really proud of you." she added with a grin and held out a token. "You get ten free games."

"Awesome!" Dustin jumped into the air and grabbed the special coin that the arcade had for that.

"Hey Mike, did my... informational magazines help?" Steve grinned.

"Just say your porn magazines." Robin huffed, riffling through Steve's hair.

"Hey, hands off the hair." Steve gasped.

"Yeah, they helped." Mike grinned. "Didn't come far yet though."

"Hey, you're fifteen, so you have time." Steve nodded. "Never push her into anything."

"I don't intend to." Mike agreed and joined Dustin at the machine to get at least one free game.

* * *

**Slow day at work. Boss understood that it's simply too hot to work for long. So I managed to dribble this out in the last three hours. Don't get used to it :D**

**It's only a filler chapter but still...**

**Review please :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**This will probably be one of the worst chapters of the entire story so far. The reason is because I'm sick as a dog today. My boss sent me home three hours into my shift because I could barely stand up straight. My stomach is killing me. I barely ate anything and I feel as if I have to hurl all the time. But I really couldn't do anything else but write this. Lying in bed doing nothing is something I'm incapable of. Still, I barely proof-read this chapter. So if you find errors, accept them and move on. I'll probably read the chapter again tomorrow with fresh eyes to see where I had typos.**

**Still, enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I write for my own pleasure and that of the readers.**

* * *

Over three weeks. Almost twenty-five days. Twenty-five days of not seeing Mike, only hearing him. Twenty-five days of not touching him or getting touched by him. Twenty-five days of her doing homework and work on controlling her powers again, managing to get better at it and not have them get out of control, though nobody pushed her over the edge in that time.

She looked at her luggage and tried to think of something she might have forgotten. Underwear and socks? Check. Shirts and pants? Check. Sweaters? Check. Bikini and bathing suite for swim lessons? Check. Area between her legs shaved? Check. The last point made her blush, thinking of last night when she had done it in the bathroom.

It had felt exceedingly weird to do it, especially since she had to take a lot more care than when she was shaving her legs but doing it while taking a bath had helped. She just hoped that Mike would like it. Another thought came to her and she decided to ask Joyce about it, finding her surrogate mother in the living room with a glass of wine in her hand.

"You all packed?" Joyce asked when she saw El.

"Yes." El nodded. "Why isn't Will coming to Hawkins as well? Doesn't he want to spend time with the others?"

"He hasn't told either me or anyone else yet, but he has met someone." Joyce smiled.

"He did?" El asked surprised. "Who is she? Why hasn't he told us?"

"Maybe because it's not a she." Joyce shrugged. "He thinks I don't know but I saw them."

"Wait, so will is...?"

"Apparently." Joyce shrugged. "I'm a bit disappointed that he hasn't told me yet."

"I wonder why." El hummed. "It's not as if I would love him any less."

"So, any plans for Christmas? Apart from making out with Mike." Joyce changed the topic and smiled at her surrogate daughter, taking a sip from her glass.

"I want to have sex with him." El said innocently but certain, causing Joyce to spit her wine back into the glass.

"Jesus!" Joyce coughed. "I should stop asking you questions when I'm drinking any liquid."

"Sorry." El said, not quite understanding why Joyce was reacting that way. "Why are you so shocked?"

"Sweetie, you only turned fifteen last month." Joyce said, eyes wide. "You're too young for sex!"

"But in one issue of those magazines you gave me it says that having sex even when young is okay when both really want it." El argued. "And it also said that since we're both the same age, the legal age minimum doesn't apply."

"I highly doubt that." Joyce scoffed. "Show me that one."

"Wait here." El said and went into her room, coming back a few minutes later with the issue, her finger inside the page that had the article. "Here."

"This says only that while it's becoming more common for people to have sex even when fifteen, it's still not the norm." Joyce told her. "And just because some do it, doesn't mean everyone should."

"What is the norm?" El asked.

" Usually between sixteen an eighteen." Joyce said. "Some people do it even later, but yes, some people do it before."

"But it felt so good when we did it with our clothes on when he was here during Thanksgiving." El said, still with the same infuriating innocence, and this time Joyce was glad that she hadn't taken a sip of wine.

"Okay, ignoring for the moment the fact that you two have in fact done sexual activities during the boys' visit, do you think that you need to have sex because you're afraid you will lose him otherwise?"

"No." El shook her head. "Mike loves me, he says it all the time and I believe him. I simply want it. I can't stop thinking about it."

"Yeah, I believe him too." Joyce sighed. "Okay, this is going to be tough."

"What?"

"Listen, I know I won't be able to stop you from doing it if you really want to, I know how stubborn you can be but I would rather have you two do things to explore your sexuality that don't include actual intercourse yet." Joyce said. "But please, for the sake of my sanity, if it's really going to happen, you have to promise me two things."

"What?" El repeated.

"First, only do it if you both really really really want to. I mean really. If you or Mike express any form of doubt or hesitation, stop! Don't force yourself or each other to do it just because you feel you have to." Joyce counseled.

"Okay." El nodded. "And the other thing?"

"Please, for the love of god, use protection." Joyce took her by the shoulders, shaking her. "Wait here." she added, getting up and heading into Jonathan's room, finding her son on the phone, probably with Nancy.

"Hey mom, what's going on?" he asked, Joyce ignoring him as she opened his nightstand, taking out the box of condoms he had in there and taking a handful. "Mom, what are you doing?"

"I need those for El." Joyce huffed and left the room, leaving a baffled Jonathan and returning to El. "Take these."

"Thank you." El smiled, still displaying the same innocence.

"Oh god, please don't let this happen, not yet." Joyce muttered, holding her head in her hands. "Can you promise me that you at least try to not have intercourse with Mike until you two are at least sixteen?"

"Promise." El nodded and handed the condoms back to Joyce before getting up to go to her room so she could peruse more magazines to find stuff to do with Mike that wouldn't include that, otherwise her urges would probably make her break that promise.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the phone line between Jonathan and Nancy, Mike's older sister had just finished listening to her boyfriend explain what his mother had just done in his room. She let the receiver fall onto her bed and left the room, Jonathan's voice still coming from the other end, she walked out of her room and to the basement door, opening it to find her brother and his friends sitting on the couch, talking about their Christmas plans.

"MIKE!" she shouted, making him fall from the couch.

"Jeez, Nancy, what's wrong?" Mike asked, holding his chest as he got back up, Lucas and Dustin snickering.

"Come with me, right now!" Nancy ordered, stomping back up the stairs and the way she said it told Mike that he better follow her.

"What's going on?" he asked after she had closed the door to his room, squealing in shock when she grabbed him by the collar and pushed him against the door.

"Tell me you're not going to have sex with El when she comes to visit." Nancy growled. "You're too young for that!"

"Wh... What?" Mike stammered. "Where did this come from?"

"I was on the phone with Jonathan when his mom came into his room and took some of his condoms, telling him they were for El." Nancy clarified. "What is going to happen when she comes here for Christmas and New Years?"

"Nothing." Mike said in a high-pitched voice. "What do you think we did on Thanksgiving weekend? Make plans to have sex on Christmas?"

"It certainly sounds like it when El goes to talk to Joyce and Joyce then gives her condoms." Nancy smacked him on the temple. "I doubt she wants to fill them with water."

"Ow!" Mike yelled. "Stop hitting me."

"Mike, please be honest, what did you and El do during Thanksgiving?" Nancy calmed down a bit. "Did I really hear her yell your name at night or did I dream that."

"Well, she wasn't yelling..." Mike hesitated.

"So you did something!" Nancy hissed.

"We were never naked!" Mike quickly said before his sister could lift her arm again to smack him. "El just... wanted to experiment."

"Mike, I know you two are fifteen now and your hormones are in full swing but please promise me to keep anything experimental related to her in the clothed column until you're at least sixteen." Nancy pleaded.

"Yes, I promise." Mike nodded, not even sure that El actually wanted real sex yet but knowing that if she did, he wouldn't be able to say no.

"Dude, what's going on?" Lucas asked when he returned to the basement.

"Nothing." Mike shook his head, unwilling to tell his friends about this. "A misunderstanding. Jonathan told Nancy something that didn't happen."

"So, tomorrow El's coming down for two weeks." Dustin brought them back to their planning. "We need to plan our itinerary."

"Dude, you're acting as if this is a business visit." Lucas interjected.

"We can play Dungeons and Dragons again." Dustin pointed out.

"Will is not coming, so we'd be missing the Cleric." Mike told him.

"Why isn't Will coming?"

"No idea, El told me last night that Will wanted to spend Christmas in Chicago." Mike shrugged.

"That sucks." Dustin said dejected.

"Okay, this is what we'll do." Mike said. "When El gets here, it's evening anyway, so we won't do anything. Then, the day after, we head to the video store and rent some Christmas movies. It's El's first Christmas she can celebrate without hiding, so lets give her the full treatment. We can also play a few games in the arcade."

"We can play other board games, we don't have to play D&D." Lucas said to Dustin as they got up.

"Okay guys, we meet here tomorrow at two." Mike stated, the others agreeing before leaving him alone.

* * *

"Where is it." Mike huffed, pacing back and forth.

"Michael, it's winter, the train is a little late." his mother tried to calm him.

"What if something happened?" Mike imagined the worst. "What if..."

"There it is." Karen pointed to their left, where a train was coming around the bend into the station.

"Thank god." Mike sighed in relief.

The train rumbled into the station, getting slower all the time until almost everyone in the station held their hands over their ears when the train stopped for good, its wheels screeching loud. The doors opened and people began coming out, less than Mike thought but the town was small, even though it was still bigger than Hawkins which didn't even have a train station at all.

He looked left and right, seeing older people exit the wagons, their, presumably, relatives greeting them. Finally, a familiar goddess came out, carrying three pieces of luggage, clad in a thick jacket with a winter hat on her head. When she saw Mike, she smiled widely, dropping her bags and opening her arms to receive Mike who ran over to her.

"I'm so glad you're here." he said between kisses.

"I'm so glad to be here." she replied, her words equally interrupted by more kisses.

"Ahem." Karen got their attention after a minute has passed.

"I'm sorry, mom." Mike blushed and pointed to El. "Mom, this is El, my girlfriend. El, this is my mom."

"Nice to finally meet you in person." Karen smiled and shook El's hand.

"Likewise, Misses Wheeler." El said, a bit intimidated and afraid to say something wrong.

"Call me Karen." Karen smiled at the girl.

"I don't think I can, dad always told me that it's disrespectful." El said.

"Michael, don't ever let her go." Karen laughed.

"I don't intend to." Mike murmured, making El smile.

"El, it's okay if the grown up offers it to you." Karen explained, remembering Nancy's warning that El was not quite developed in social stuff. "But we should head out if we want to have dinner at a normal hour."

Mike quickly grabbed all three of the bags El had brought with her and hurried out of the train station. Snow was falling in earnest in this part of Indiana, even though barely any flakes have come down in Hawkins itself. They put the luggage into the trunk and El got into the backseat, Mike going in front because of his long legs.

Karen began the drive and fought her way through the weather. Due to the snow on the road, the going was slow and it took almost ninety minutes to cover the distance that they usually did in a third of that time but finally, Karen drove the car into the garage, El and Mike getting out and Mike again taking all of the luggage, bringing it into the house through the side entrance.

"We're back!" Karen shouted and ten seconds later, Ted appeared, not sleeping in his lay-z-boy, their youngest daughter right behind him.

"Dad, Holly, this is my girlfriend El." Mike did another introduction. "El, these are my dad and my little sister Holly."

"I like your hair." Holly pointed at El's head. "It looks better than Mike's. So fluffy."

"Of course it does." Mike huffed.

"I like you." El grinned and bend down at the knee to be on eye level with her before shaking her hand.

"I'm Ted." Mike's dad greeted her, holding out his hand.

"Nice to meet you, sir." El shook it.

"Call me Ted." the older man smiled, though it seemed to her as if he was uncomfortable being this forthcoming.

"You get your luggage into your room, I'll start with dinner." Karen said as she took off her jacket.

"I already made everything ready." Ted said and pointed to the kitchen, where every ingredient was in bowls or on plates in the kitchen. "I didn't dare cook it."

"Good." Karen smiled, still amazed at how much Ted was trying to be a better husband.

"Come with me." Mike said and grabbed her luggage again, fighting himself up the stairs, his body with the bags too wide to fit into the stairwell.

"Let me take one." El laughed and grabbed one of them, following him up into his room. "I can stay here?"

"Yes, apparently Joyce told my mom that if she put you into Nancy's room, we'd end up sleeping in one bed anyway, so..." he shrugged and put her bags down before sitting on the edge of his bed.

"That's very astute of them." El smiled and climbed into his lap, straddling his thighs and kissing him deeply. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too." Mike smiled back and they kept kissing for several minutes before they were interrupted by gagging noises.

"That's so gross." Holly complained, standing at the now open door.

"Just wait until you get our age." El grinned at the little girl.

"Ew, no!" Holly made a face. "Boys are yucky."

"That's what I thought about girls too." Mike shrugged. "Until I met a certain girl in the woods."

"Mom told me to get you, dinner's ready." Holly told them and skipped back down the stairs."

"Well, let's go." Mike smiled and pushed her gently off of him before getting up, slapping her ass for a second and making her gasp at his boldness.

"There you are." Karen said and put the last plate down. "Dig in."

"Wow, this is delicious, Misses Whee... Karen." El said after eating the first forkful of pasta.

"Thank you." Karen smiled.

"Told you my mom is an awesome cook." Mike stated proudly and sucked a long line of spaghetti into his mouth.

"Mike, bite it off." Ted shook his head. "You're a bad role model."

"For who?" Mike mumbled, his mouth full but Ted only pointed to Holly who did the same thing Mike did though she spread sauce over a much larger area of her face.

"Holly." Karen chuckled and grabbed a kitchen roll, ripping one piece off to wipe the sauce Holly's face.

"I'm not as bad as her." Holly pointed to El, causing Mike to look as well before he began to laugh.

"What?" El asked, her mouth filled with the delicious food.

"You have..." Karen smiled.

"Wait!" Mike quickly interrupted her and jumped up from his seat, running out of the kitchen and returning five seconds later with a handheld mirror. "Look."

"Oh god!" El gasped when she saw her reflection, her entire mouth surrounded by sauce, making it look as if she had been bleeding profusely.

"Here." Karen laughed and handed her a paper towel from the roll.

"Thank you." El blushed and forced herself to eat slower.

"So, what are your plans for your time here?" Ted asked.

"Well, tomorrow we're going to the video store to rent a few Christmas movies and the arcade." Mike replied. "The others are coming over at two and we go together. And on the morning of Christmas eve, I'm taking El to the pool to teach her to swim."

"El, you can't swim?" Karen was surprised.

"No, I never learned." El shook her head sadly.

"Mike, that's so sweet of you." Karen was touched how much her boy seemed to love this girl.

"I thought the pool is closed for the next to weeks." Ted wondered.

"Dad, I work there, remember? The owner gave me a key so I can swim when I want without distractions." Mike reminded him.

"Right." Ted nodded.

"How did you convince Martin to give a key?" Karen looked at Mike.

"I don't know, I asked if I could because I swim." Mike shrugged. "Though I think it helped that I offered to sweep the pools for dirt when I get there early."

"I think that's it." Karen laughed, knowing how lazy Martin, the manager of the pool, was when it came to cleaning it.

"Lets hope you're not bothered by the smell." Holly giggled.

"What smell?" El asked.

"They put chlorine into the water to keep it clean, and that gives off a particular smell." Karen told her.

"Actually, that's not quite true, mom." Mike chuckled. "Mister Clark explained last week where the smell is actually coming from."

"Well, don't leave us hanging." Ted said.

"Chlorine is completely odorless." Mike explained. "But when it's combined with urine, that particular smell develops."

"Are you saying that whenever I smelled that smell when I was at the pool, it's because people were peeing into the water?" Karen gasped.

"Yes." Mike nodded.

"Ew, I'm never going into the water there again!" Holly gagged.

"Don't worry, that doesn't mean that you're bathing in urine." Mike winked. "It smells even if the amount is very small. I swim in it four times a week and I'm still healthy."

"Still, I felt better not knowing that." Karen made a face. "Will you be back for lunch?"

"I think so." Mike nodded. "Wouldn't want to miss your soup."

"Soup for Christmas?" El asked.

"Only on Christmas eve." Karen shook her head. "For Christmas itself, we have a goose."

"Oh, okay." El accepted that.

"Don't worry, it tastes delicious." Holly smiled.

"Can't wait." El smiled back.

"El, do you want to have a tea party with me?" Holly asked excited after they had finished the dinner.

"Sure." El agreed, looking at Mike, who nodded.

"Yay!" Holly whooped and ran upstairs, El following her.

"So, what do you think?" Mike asked, putting his plate into the sink.

"She's a very sweet girl." Ted said. "I like her."

"I like her too." Karen said. "I can't believe you never brought her here before."

"Yeah well, the Chief was a little protective of her." he tried to explain. "I think he went a little overboard because his first daughter died."

"I can see that." Ted nodded, knowing about the chief's little girl and her untimely death.

After cleaning the table, Mike offered to do the dishes, which surprised his mother tremendously. Once he was done, he went upstairs and saw that the door to Holly's room was still open, so he got close and listened in to what his sister and the woman he loved were talking about.

"And one more for Mister Fofo." he heard Holly saying. "And you get the last one."

"Thank you so much, it's delicious." El was playing along with the tiny empty cups.

"El, do you love my brother?" Holly was asking and suddenly, Mike's heart beat faster even though he knew the answer.

"Of course I do." El replied to her, Mike letting out the breath he was holding.

"Are you going to ask him to marry you?"

"I think he's supposed to do that." El was chuckling.

"Why?" Holly asked.

"Well, I read the man always proposes to the woman."

"But what if the man doesn't know you want to marry him? Or if he's too scared to ask?" Holly wanted to know.

"You know what, little one?" he could practically hear El smiling. "You make a good point."

Mike smiled to himself and went into the bathroom to relieve himself. While he was washing his hands, he heard his mother come upstairs, telling Holly to get ready for bed and as he left the bathroom, the little bundle of energy barreled past him, jumping into the bathtub and grabbing the shower head.

"Did you have fun?" Mike asked her.

"Yeah, you're sister is cute." she nodded and gave him a kiss.

They continued to make out until they heard Holly leave the bathroom, Mike letting El use it first where she showered and brushed her teeth. Mike used it after her and once they were both clean and in their pajamas, Mike led her down into the basement where he put a movie into the VHS for them to watch.

Two hours later, they went to bed, neither having seen much of the movie since they had been too busy making out.

* * *

The next day, they enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of toast and cereal, Holly excitedly talking about Christmas that would be happening in two days and how she was wishing for a unicorn again. They spent the morning in the basement again, this time making out inside the pillow fort that Mike had never taken down, although his legs didn't fit into it anymore.

Not that El hadn't minded. She had been very fine with being on her back while Mike was on top of her, their bodies pressed against each other and her legs spread. She had been hot and bothered the entire time, well aware that their genitals were pressed against each other, separated by four layers of clothing. The guys had come over early, Karen offering to make lunch for all of them and once they had eaten, they had gone back down into the basement and played a few board games before Dustin had suggested doing challenges they posed for each other.

So far, Mike had successfully done a handstand and even walked on his hands for a few steps while Lucas was still panting after doing twenty push ups with Max on his back. Max had failed to balance a pencil on her nose for a minute, much to her chagrin and El couldn't for the life of her carry an egg on a spoon without dropping it.

"Okay, next challenge." Dustin called.

"How long can El and Mike kiss without breaking apart for air?" Lucas suggested.

"Hell no!" Max shouted, even as Mike and El vigorously nod their heads at the challenge.

"Why not?" Mike asked.

"Because you two would then be sitting here, kissing for hours probably." Max huffed. "You're already like Siamese twins sometimes that are attached at the lips."

"How about, how many eggos can El stuff into her mouth without swallowing?" Dustin gave his suggestion.

"I'm game." El nodded and Lucas hurried to get a a box of eggos and a toaster.

"What do we do until the eggos are done?" Mike wondered.

"How about, which boy has the longest tongue?" Max smirked.

"What brought that up?" Dustin looked at her confused.

"She saw this band on TV, what were they called?" Lucas looked at Max.

"Kiss." Max said.

"Okay." Mike nodded and put his lips on El's, who responded immediately.

"See what you've done?" Lucas asked Max accusingly.

"Guys, stop." Max shouted at the couple. "The band's name is kiss. They have white face paint and the lead singer has a really long tongue."

"So now you want to see if ours are too?" Dustin wanted to know.

"Yeah, so out with those things." Max grinned, pulling out a ruler from somewhere.

"So?" El asked, looking at the guys, all of them standing there with their tongues against their chins.

"Well, visual check says Mike." Max said and measured everyone in turn. "Dustin... two point two inches, Lucas... two point five and a half inches and Mike... Jesus, almost three inches."

"Now we know why El loves him so much." Dustin laughed.

"What?" El blushed a deep read, her mind immediately going to the foreplay things she has read about back in Chicago.

"He can clean your throat with his tongue." Dustin grinned.

"Dude, that's gross!" Mike almost gagged.

"Yeah, his tongue never goes back there, I always stop it with my own way before that." El said innocently, seeing Dustin's face fall.

"Seriously, that's even worse than what I said." Dustin made a face.

"Just wait until you get a girlfriend." Mike winked.

"I have a girlfriend, remember?" Dustin retorted. "It's Suzie, with a z."

"Yeah, right." Mike sighed, wondering how to snap him out of that imaginary relationship.

"Listen to the aardvark." El said innocently.

"Don't call me that." Mike huffed.

"Eggos are ready." Lucas said and put the four waffles on a plate, placing it in front of El.

She took the entire stack, her hands not big enough to really hold them at let it fall back down, taking only the top waffle. She bit off piece by piece, chewing but not swallowing and quickly did the same with the second and the third. She tried to bite a piece off the fourth but she couldn't open her mouth without food falling out of it. She looked at her friends who were all smirking, though Mike starting guffawing right away.

"Smile." Max grinned and took a quick picture, causing El to break and spit out the waffles again.

"You bitch." El laughed. "Show me."

"Wait." Max waved the picture a while until it developed. "Here."

"You looked like a hamster." Mike still laughed, pointing at the picture.

"You really did." the others joined in.

"Stop laughing Mike, you're supposed to be my boyfriend." El moped jokingly.

"Alright, I'm sorry, my love...ly hamster." he grinned.

"That's it!" she laughed and tackled him to the couch.

"So, this is how you wanna play, huh?" he gave her a wicked look and used his superior strength to turn her around, descending down her body until his fingers had reached a very sensitive area on her body.

"Stop it!" she squealed and tried to get away.

"Oh no, you asked for it." he grinned and kept going.

"Help!" El laughed, trying to flee from the heartless monster that her boyfriend had become but whenever she managed to get away a few feet, his long arms pulled her back while her so-called friends didn't do anything but laugh at the scene.

"What's going on here?" a tiny voice asked, Mike's little sister entering the basement without knocking first.

"Holly, help!" El laughed and the little girl watched with glee when she saw her brother tickling El's feet, knowing what to do.

"Mike is really ticklish on his butt!" Holly yelled and skipped down the stairs, pressing her small hands on Mike's butt cheeks and starting to clench her fingers.

"Iiiiiiih!" Mike squealed a lot louder and with a much higher pitch than El did before as he tried to flee from his little sister, letting go of El in the process.

"Oh no you don't." El laughed and ran after him, tackling him again, this time to the floor, before he reached the door that led outside. "Guys, hold him down."

"No, don't, I beg you!" Mike pleaded but Dustin quickly jumped on Mike's legs while Max and Lucas held an arm down each, giving El all the time in the world to tickle his butt.

"What are the magic words?" El asked while keeping up her torture and the others laughed.

"Pretty please!" he yelled, his long body squirming.

"No, wrong!" El laughed and kept going.

"I'll do anything you want!" he tried again and this time she stopped.

"Good, he really knew them." El gave an evil laugh while Mike turned on his back after the others had let him go. "I won't ask you today, maybe not tomorrow but some day, I will ask you for something and you can't say no."

"Yes, everything you want." Mike panted, lying on the floor with his hands squeezed between his butt and the floor to protect it further.

"Thanks for the assist Holly." El patted the little girl's head.

"Everything for you." Holly giggled. "Especially when it's against him."

"Traitor." Mike pointed his finger at her.

"I like her more than you." Holly poked out her tongue, El's heart melting at how she had already been accepted into Mike's family.

"Nobody loves me." Mike gave a melodramatic sniff.

"I do." El grinned and sat down on his stomach, bending down to kiss him.

"Ewww! Gross!" Holly made gagging noises before she walked upstairs again. "Mommy, El is sitting on Mike!"

"WHAT?" came Karen's shocked shout from the kitchen before she came down a few steps to look, dreading what to find but she only saw El and Mike lying next to each other on the floor, both laughing while the other three laughed as well.

"Mom, they tortured me!" Mike complained. "Discipline your daughter."

"I tickled his butt and then El took over." Holly giggled from behind her mother.

"Good girl." Karen smiled.

"Even my own mother." Mike threw his arms up in defeat.

"Guys, if you still want to go to the arcade and the video store today, you should go now, it's supposed to be snowing later." Karen advised.

"Lets go." Dustin said. "And we have to stop by radio shack before, my order has come in."

"It's close to the arcade, so no problem there." Max shrugged, the group heading outside after getting dressed in winter clothing.

"Guys, we have to head home before." Lucas said, looking at Max.

"Why?" Dustin wanted to know.

"Uh... homework." Lucas gave a fake smile.

"Yeah right." Mike scoffed. "Guys, remember when El told you she had to go home at four in the afternoon?"

"Yeah, you went home to swap spit." Dustin nodded.

"Correct." Mike nodded. "So, Lucas, Max, why don't you just say that you want to make out a bit more before you have to spend the next three days apart because your families are taking you visit to your relatives?"

"Fine." Lucas shrugged. "We want to make out before we have to spend the next three days apart because our families are taking us to visit our relatives."

"See?" Mike grinned. "Easy."

"Have fun!" El called after them as they rode away on their bikes.

"Well, lets go then." Dustin shook his head, leading the way while Mike rode after him, El using his old bike that had become too small for Mike.

* * *

**Another filler chapter. Starting with the next, I plan to branch out a bit and use other characters and their point of view. Stay tuned but...**

**Review please :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Yay: I actually don't write that fast. While I can write fast, I normally don't finish a chapter of this length in a day or even two, given that I go to work and have housework to do as well. The reason for these chapters coming out that quick is my process of planning and writing stories. I suffer from insomnia so I often lie awake at night and think about things. After I finished watching every episode and I was in bed, I thought about writing a story and in my head, I created several plot points. It goes so far that I write them out in my head and in order for me to not forget them, I usually transcribe them the next day.**

**That's why I have so many chapters out already. Over a third of what you read so far was already written before I released the first chapter. I have more paragraphs written already for later chapters ^^**

**And you wouldn't need to check everyday if you made an account and followed the story ;)**

**Me who else duh: Sicher könnt ich auch in deutsch schreiben, aber da hätte ich ja eine viel kleinere Leserschaft ;) Und du bist in kühleren Gefilden? Reib Salz in die Wunde -.-**

**grievesforyou: Yeah, just measured mine and wrote it in :D And remember, it's only the part that sticks out ^^**

**So, enough of the author's note, you came here for a story, so...**

**Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I write for my own pleasure and that of the readers.**

* * *

Stacy sighed, standing in the store with her friends who tried to find stuff to buy for Christmas. She missed the time when she was the queen of the ball, every boy in her class and also from the other classes wanting to be with her and buying her presents to gain her attention. Yet ever since entering high school, a lot of the boys ogled over the older girls and even the nerd crew seemed to have forgotten about her as well. Like that Dustin kid who asked her to dance at the Snow Ball. It had been fun to turn him down, though weird when she had seen Wheeler's sister dance with him.

Wheeler. That name caused more than just a bit of confusion inside her head. He used to be the scrawny boy getting beaten up by Troy every other day. But in the two years since the Snow Ball, the kid had grown freaking huge, towering over his classmates and a lot of the guys in the grades above him. And whereas he used to be scrawny, now he had a damn body. She remembered the day she went to the pool, visiting Jennifer, who worked there part-time at the entrance desk, thinking she and her friends could have some fun alone before it was opened for the public.

That day, Jennifer had told them that Mike Wheeler of all people was swimming, having started a job as a lifeguard which allowed him to be there as well during closing time. They had changed into their bikinis and bathing suits and had entered the pool area to scare him a little so he would leave. What she hadn't expected was Wheeler doing laps, wearing those earbuds that prevent water getting into his ear but also making it impossible for them to shout him out of the water.

So they had waited. And waited. And waited. Wheeler had continued to swim, never stopping his crawl for another ninety minutes. A quick question to Jennifer had confirmed that Wheeler usually did this for two hours straight, sometimes even more. She herself was tired after ten minutes of swimming like that and she couldn't fathom that a scrawny boy like Wheeler could swim that much without pausing.

But the biggest surprise had come when he was finally done. Wheeler had exited the pool on the side they were waiting on, pushing his upper body over the rim before his long legs followed and to her own embarrassment, she and the girls had actually squealed at what they had seen. No longer scrawny, but a tight body, slim, V-shaped, with visible but not overly huge abs, broad shoulders, broad chest and strong arms and thighs. She had even heard that he had broken Troy's nose with a single punch a week ago. To her, he had looked as if he had stepped directly out of a male teenage swimsuit model catalog.

And ever since then, she couldn't stop thinking about him. She had made Jennifer call her whenever he was at the pool to swim and she had hurried over there to watch him, waiting in her bikini for him to come out of the pool but the only thing he usually said was a short greeting before he headed to the showers and then took his break in the employee room until his shift started. When he was on shift, he never paid particular attention to her, he seemed to be too professional for that. She had even thought of faking an emergency but the danger of being ridiculed by her classmates was too high for her to go through with it.

"I'm telling you, it's here, I called ahead." she heard a loud commotion from the entrance, the bell announcing the arrival of new customers and she saw Dustin walk into the store.

But that meant...

As she had thought, Wheeler came behind, almost a full head above Dustin. When she looked at him, it felt as if someone had punched her. She knew Wheeler had stopped combing his hair flat but today, his hair was practically flowing from his head and making him look like a rock star. But her eyes really fell on what was probably the reason for him ignoring her. A cute girl was holding his hand and at first, Stacy thought it was his sister but the girl wasn't blond and also too old for that.

She looked at the girls face, saw her adoring eyes whenever she looked at Wheeler and cursing when Wheeler looked even more dopey-eyed when he looked at the girl. She knew the girl from somewhere, she had seen her face before. Then it came to her. She had seen her at the Snow Ball, two years earlier, where she and Wheeler had been dancing all night to almost every song.

So Wheeler had a girlfriend? Stacy was trying to figure out why she had never seen the girl at school when the couple walked past her, not even acknowledging the presence of the girl who tried to get the guy to look at her. Her curiosity peaked, she followed them at a distance, staying the neighboring isles as to not get their attention.

"It looked impressive, it really did." Wheeler was saying as she came close enough to hear them.

"I felt ridiculous." the girl giggled back. "I had no idea it was so big. It didn't look that massive when I had my hands around it."

"You didn't have to try to get it into your mouth completely." Wheeler grinned and Stacy almost choked on her breath when she heard this salacious bit, starting to follow the couple around so she could listen further.

"Hey, you made it a challenge, and I loved your facial expression with every bit more that I got into my mouth." Stacy heard the girl go on, almost making her drop the merchandise she was holding as cover.

"I thought I died and went to heaven." Wheeler laughed and Stacy couldn't stop the movie starting in her head of these two doing something that even Stacy had not considered doing yet.

"But come on, what you did was even worse." she heard the girl again. "When you got started down there, I thought I was dying for real."

"I never thought you'd be so loud." Wheeler was defending herself and Stacy felt her legs go weak when the picture in her head developed.

"I hate you, you know?" the girl suddenly said, a spark of hope lighting up inside Stacy. '_Hope?_'

"No you don't." Wheeler was chuckling.

"You made me squeal." the girl giggled. "I never squealed before in my life!"

"I didn't hear you telling me to stop."

"I did! But you simply kept going."

"You didn't stop either when you were on top and I pleaded for you to go easy on me." Wheeler continued and Stacy couldn't stop the movie in her head of the two pleasuring each other.

"Yeah aardvark, that's called revenge." the girl nodded, completely serious as she looked into his eyes and probably wondering when his brain will have processed the nickname.

"Yeah it... wait, aardvark?" Wheeler gasped, his voice taking on a higher octave. "We agreed that you never call me that anymore."

"We didn't agree on anything. And now that I know how freakishly long your tongue is..." the girl began to explain but when she did, Stacy couldn't hold on to the box in her hand anymore, letting it fall to the floor with a thud.

"Are you okay?" Wheeler asked her as he turned around the shelf. "Oh, hey Stacy."

"Wheeler." she nodded and quickly got away from them to hide her blush, leaving the store and waiting for her friends to emerge but determined to get herself some of that Wheeler meat someday.

"What's with her?" El asked.

"No idea." Mike shrugged.

"Guys, I got it." Dustin smiled, holding the equipment he had ordered.

"What is it?" El asked. "Another vibrating hammer?"

"Or a doomsday clock that will stop working when the wind stops?" Mike added.

"I'll show you when I've assembled it." Dustin grinned and turned to see one of the girls of the bitch squad smiling shyly at him. "Hey Jennifer."

"Hey Dustin." Jennifer waved back, resulting in oohs and aahs from Mike and El before she was pulled out of the store by her friends.

"Shut up guys." Dustin huffed after the girls were gone. "So, El, are you trying tonight for another record?"

"Seriously, she barely managed to get a stack of three eggos in her mouth at once, you really want her to try more?" Mike asked.

"Hey, it looked funny with her cheeks puffed like a hamster." Dustin laughed.

"That did look cute." Mike agreed.

"I'll do that when Mike promises me never to tickle my feet again." El pouted. "Or at least stop when I tell him."

"But then you wouldn't give that really cute squeal." he grinned and dropped a kiss on her temple.

"Could you two do me a favor?" Dustin asked and both looked at him in expectation. "Stand a few feet apart."

"No." El decided, involuntarily using the same inflection of her voice that Jim had used when he had shut down Dustin's suggestion of leading them down into the Russian base.

"You sound just like your father and he wasn't even your real one." Dustin smirked as El wrapped her arms around Mike, neither of them knowing that their displays of affection were being watched from outside the store.

"Hey Dustin, what's with Jennifer?" Mike asked. "She seems to like you."

"Totally." El nodded. "She smiled so warmly at you."

"She and I were partnered for a project in biology class." Dustin shrugged. "I thought she was quite nice."

"So?" El prodded.

"What do you mean, so?" Dustin looked at her.

"Dustin, she likes you and she's cute." Mike pointed out.

"I have a..."

"No, you don't have a girlfriend." Mike groaned. "You have a radio pal you met at science camp who you will never see again."

"That's mean, dude." Dustin sighed.

"Mike, don't you owe Dustin a date with Jennifer because he ate that giant pizza?" El asked her sweetie.

"Yeah but when we were sitting in the train on our way back here, he told me that I should wait because of Suzie." Mike replied.

"Guys." Dustin sighed.

"You know what?" Mike shook his head. "Screw it."

"Where are you going?" El asked but Mike simply walked outside.

"Girls, a moment?" Mike stopped the bitch squad that was about to leave after they had been comparing the stuff they bought.

"Mike." Stacy nodded at him, almost shyly, even pushing her hair over her ear, an action that didn't go unnoticed by her friends.

"Jennifer, can I talk to you for a moment?" Mike asked and looked at the group. "Alone."

"Sure." Jennifer shrugged and followed Mike a few steps away.

"Listen, you like Dustin, right?" Mike began after they were out of earshot of the others.

"Uuuuh..." Jennifer looked at him with big eyes. "Why would you think that?"

"Because you keep looking at him and smiling and whenever he says hi, you look away shyly." Mike pointed out.

"Well... fine, yes, I like him." Jennifer sighed. "What about it?"

"What are you doing on the 29th?" Mike smiled.

"Nothing, why?"

"Date with Dustin." Mike grinned.

"I'm sorry, what?" Jennifer gasped.

"Listen, I'm going to be completely honest with you, alright?" Mike looked at her, waiting for her nod. "When we visited my girlfriend and Will in Chicago, we went to an All You Can Eat pizza parlor. Dustin ordered the largest pizza ever and I told him, if he finished it, I'd get him a date with you. He successfully finished it."

"But you went last month, didn't you?" Jennifer wondered. "Over the Thanksgiving weekend?"

"Yes, when we came back, Dustin told me to not do it after all because he has a girlfriend."

"He has a girlfriend?" Jennifer felt like someone punched her in the stomach.

"Actually, he doesn't." Mike shook his head, making her even more confused. "He met her during his stay at the science camp he went to during Spring Break. They have a radio relationship."

"A what?" Jennifer was even more confused now.

"Imagine a pen pal, just with a radio." Mike chuckled. "He talks to her once a week and before you start wondering, he will never see her again."

"How can you be sure?" Jennifer was apprehensive.

"She's from Utah, her parents are Mormons, so she's most likely as well and her parents wouldn't allow a relationship between the two since he's not Mormon." Mike shrugged.

"Okay, so lets say I get my wish and become his girlfriend..."

"Interesting." he grinned.

"You didn't hear that!" Jennifer gasped, cursing at her mistake. "Anyway, how should I deal with that?"

"Okay, lets say you get your wish and become his girlfriend." Mike winked, causing her to blush. "I doubt he would keep referring to Suzie as his girlfriend. Dustin is not that kind of guy. But depending on her reaction to it, he could keep her as a radio pal, so if he does his once a week radio date with her, just let him. Nothing will happen there, except talking about their shared interests."

"Okay." Jennifer accepted.

"Good, I'll tell Dustin about the date and I'll make sure he honors it." Mike nodded and returned into the store, Jennifer rejoining her friends.

"What did he want?" Silvia, another girl, asked her.

"Stuff regarding the pool." Jennifer lied and before her friends could plaster her with questions, she decided to take the attention away from her. "Stacy, what's going on with you?"

"What do you mean?" Stacy asked.

"When Wheeler came out, you pushed your hair over you ear and you said his name like you wanted to jump him." Jennifer added with a smile.

"Ooooh!" Alexandra cooed. "Stacy has the hots for big boy Wheeler."

"Shut up!" Stacy shouted at her.

"Alex is right though, Wheeler has become like a tree." Christine added. "He's what now, six-two?"

"No idea, but he's gotten yummy since he started swimming." Silvia growled. "Wouldn't say no to those big hands running over my body."

"I think she would have something against it." Jennifer giggled and Stacy thought it was another dig at her but her friends were looking into the store through the window to where Jennifer was pointing at.

"Damn, look at that." Silvia gasped, when they saw Mike kissing his girlfriend, the girl's feet off the floor because of their height difference. "And with tongue too."

"I wonder if they had sex already." Christine mused.

"Girls, you really want to speculate if the president of the nerd crew is doing it already?" Stacy huffed, not liking a bit where this was going.

"I'd say yes if he offered to speculate me." Silvia gave a little purr.

"What does that mean?" Jennifer looked at her confused before the others began laughing.

"Dude, what did you say to them?" Dustin asked Mike when he finally let El back to the floor and pointing outside where the bitch squad was laughing and pointing at one of their members.

"Nothing but I made that date with you and Jennifer." Mike winked at him. "December 29th. Be your best."

"Wait a second, I can't cheat on Su..."

"Seriously, don't say Suzie." El huffed, getting fed up with Dustin about this. "She's your radio friend. You should accept that. There's a pretty girl is interested in you."

"I don't know." Dustin hesitated.

"Dustin, remember when you came back from science camp and you thought we had abandoned you because we weren't answering your radio calls?" Mike asked.

"Yes." Dustin smiled, remembering that day and how he sprayed hair spray into Lucas' eyes.

"You always want to be the third or fifth wheel?" Mike continued.

"What?" Dustin gasped at Mike's directness.

"Imagine me and El going on a double date with Lucas and Max." Mike said. "Since it's supposed to a date and be romantic, having you there would make it awkward."

"I know that sounds harsh but it's the truth." El added.

"So, if you and Jennifer were together, we could do triple dates." Mike nodded a thanks to El. "We could do stuff together, go eat or bowling or the movies or whatever and afterwards, each couple gets on with the more romantic things apart from the others."

"Okay, but what if I had Jennifer as my girlfriend and we want to double or triple date but El is in Chicago?" Dustin pointed out. "You'd be the fifth wheel then."

"Dustin, I have no problem with staying at home." Mike said. "Would I feel disappointed because I couldn't join you with El? Of course I would. But I'd still know that El is my girlfriend, so I'm not alone. I could talk to her over the SuperCom, or I could go swimming to... get some stress relief."

"I love you." El smiled at him.

"Fine, you made your point." Dustin lifted his arms in surrender. "December 29th. Is six o'clock okay?"

Mike turned around to look at the girl group that was still talking animatedly amongst themselves. Jennifer looked up and saw him looking. He held up six fingers before he pointed at his watch and then Dustin, Jennifer nodding and giving a thumbs up before she gave Dustin another shy smile, the boy receiving it returning the thumbs up.

"Dude, that silent communication you did there was great." Dustin laughed. "Come on, lets get to the video store."

"Yo, Wheeler?" one of the girls of the bitch squad called out to him when they had left the store and walked to their bikes.

"What?" Mike called back, unlocking his bike.

"How tall are you now?"

"I don't know, six-two I think." Mike replied, looking at El and shrugging when he saw her questioning look.

They climbed on their bicycles and started up the road, the arcade and video store already visible in the distance. The ride took less than ten minutes, even though a cold wind was blowing against them, making El shiver when it got into her neck, making her curse that she forgot to wear a shawl. Luckily, they arrived quickly at the arcade, putting their bikes right next to each other again so Mike could use his chain to tie them together.

* * *

"Well, now we know it wasn't the hat." Robin giggled at him, causing Steve to groan.

"What, no blackboard?" he asked as he sat down in front of and with his back to her, referring to the You Rule You Suck blackboard she had used at Scoops Ahoy.

"No need, all in my head." she grinned and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "Maybe you should cut your hair."

"Are you insane?" he turned his head to look at her aghast. "My hair is my most prominent feature."

"And that's saying something." she poked out her tongue and then dropped a friendly kiss on his cheek. "Now go, there's still another customer in the store who hasn't yet turned you down."

"Yeah, yeah." Steve sighed. "I don't get it, it's as if all the girls I talk to think I'm the biggest asshole."

"Well, women have astute observational skills, don't you know that?" Robin looked at him and tried to keep a straight face.

"Devil child." he huffed.

"Hey mom, hey dad!" Mike grinned, seeing Steve and Robin doing their usual bickering when he and the others entered the store.

"Hey children." Steven waved at them, Robin too until she saw who followed Mike into the store. "El!"

"Hey." El waved, just managing to get her hand out of Mike's before Robin enveloped her in a hug.

"Man, you get more beautiful every day." Robin said. "How are you?"

"Great, now that I'm with Mike again." El smiled. "It sucks without him."

"Aw, you two are so cute." Robin smiled back and looked up at Mike. "Hey Lurch."

"Seriously?" Mike huffed.

"How's it going with you two?" El asked them.

"Ah well, you know." Robin shrugged and stepped behind the counter, hugging Steve from behind again and putting her head on his shoulder, making them look like a two-headed human. "Girls think Steve's an asshole but other than that, we're fine. Having no monster trying to kill you or Russians trying to open a gate to hell is always nice."

"Why do girls think you're an asshole?" Dustin asked.

"Beats me." Steve shrugged. "I talk to them, everything's fine but as soon as I ask them out, they look at me as if I'm a monster and flee from me."

"If Mike was trying to ask another girl out with me in the same room, I'd think him a monster too." El said. "Then I would kill him." she added with a giggle.

"Well, you're his girlfriend, of course you would." Robin said. "Also, different situation."

"Aren't you two together?" Mike asked confused.

"No, why would you think that?" Steve wondered, looking at Robin who had the same reaction, which was weird given how close their heads were still so close together.

"Because you two act like a couple." Dustin pointed out. "You have this friendly bickering pat down, Robin constantly hugs or touches you and I've seen her kiss you quite often."

"I never kissed him on the lips." Robin argued.

"Still, when I see you two, I see a couple in love. Or at least, I see a woman in love with a guy and a guy who sees a woman he wants but can't have." Dustin shrugged and pointed to Mike and El. "And believe me, I have plenty of experience recognizing two people in love. These two are as close to Siamese twins you can get without having them being actually attached together."

"We're not..." Robin started, looking into Steve's eyes but couldn't say anything else, her thoughts and feelings a complete mess.

"Did you want something specific or did you just come here because you missed us?" Steve asked the three, inadvertently saving Robin, who let him go.

"We wanted to rent some Christmas movies." Mike said. "It's El's first real Christmas that she can celebrate in the open, so we want to give her the full spread."

"Well, there's Don't open till Christmas, or Black Christmas..." Steve started.

"Are you nuts." Robin interjected, giving him a gentle slap on the back of his head. "Are you trying to scare El into hating Christmas?"

"What, these movies have Christmas in their names." Steve argued.

"They're horror movies!" Robin laughed and grabbed a few tapes.

"Here." Robin handed them to Mike. "The first is It's a Wonderful Life. It's a classic."

"Wait, you're giving them Gremlins?" Steve gasped as he saw the bottom tape. "So, you hit me because I recommended horror movies and then you hand them a horror movie?"

"Gremlins isn't horror." Robin shot back. "They're cute."

"Until they change into monsters." Steve retorted.

"It has comedic elements." Robin tried once more.

"So has Trading Places." Steve said and pointed to the middle tape in Mike's hands. "It's a comedy that just happens to play during Christmas time."

"See? Husband and wife." Dustin laughed, getting glares from both of them. "Why don't we just take those movies and you can make up and kiss?"

"Shut up, Dusty-bun." Steve and Robin shouted at the same time, sharing a look before Steve huffed and walked away to sort more tapes.

"How long do you need them?" Robin asked, glad for the moment that Steve had left.

"Over Christmas." Mike told her. "So, three or four days."

"Alright, that's ten bucks for you guys." Robin smiled at them.

"Won't you get in trouble for giving us a rebate?" Mike asked as he handed her the bill.

"Meh." she waved them off. "Dustin has paid more than enough already for you to rent every movie given how much money he has dumped into the arcades."

"Glad to be of service." Dustin deadpanned.

"Thanks, Robin." El smiled at her friend and waving as they walked past Steve and entered the arcade through the door at the left wall.

After they had left, Robin sighed and wondered why the kids had thought that she and Steve were a couple. She looked at what she could easily now call her best friend, someone she essentially went through hell with, who was sorting videos and sometimes running his hand through his hair. When he did that, something happened inside her, a feeling she usually had only when a certain type of girl or woman walked through the door.

She still liked women. She looked at every single one that walked into the store, checking her out. But she'd be damned if she didn't start to feel similar things whenever Steve came in after her. And now that Dustin had made his comments, she couldn't deny the irrefutable fact that she felt a pang of jealousy every time Steve talked to a girl and also that gnawing fear that one would actually agree to a date which was followed by relief when those girls shot him down. She felt very confused now.

While Robin did her soul-searching, El and Mike were standing at a Star Wars arcade machine, El trying her abilities in steering an X-Wing into the Death Star trench and trying to get to the end. She flinched a bit when the machine suddenly said 'Use the force, Luke', not having expected that but Mike assured her that it meant that she was close to the end.

After a tense minute of weaving the stick left and right to avoid the shots of the fighters behind her own, she hit the button that sent the torpedoes flying, the screen congratulating her on her success. She whooped excitedly and turned around to hug and kiss Mike, who congratulated her profusely. They went over to Dustin, who was trying his best to finally beat Dragon's Lair, cursing loudly when he died yet another time.

"Dustin, take it easy." El grinned.

"It's so frustrating." Dustin huffed. "I must have fed hundreds of dollars into this crap machine already over the years."

"Why don't you just accept that you may not be able to beat it and move on to some other game?" El suggested.

"How did your Death Star trench run go?" Dustin shot back, mentally preparing to tell her that she too will pour a lot of money into that to beat it.

"She beat it in her first try." Mike said proudly.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Dustin groaned.

"You should stop playing now." Mike suggested. "You need your money for next week for your date with Jennifer."

"Guys, what should I do for a first date?" Dustin asked.

"I don't know, go to the movies?" Mike shrugged.

"What did you two do on your first date?"

"We never really had a real date with just the two of us." El realized. "When we got together, dad wouldn't let me go to places with a lot of people so I wouldn't be recognized."

"I think that should be remedied." Mike stated. "El, will you go on a date with me?"

"Yes, I would like that." El smiled widely, pursing her lips as an invitation for him to kiss her, which he gladly did.

"We could double date." Dustin suggested.

"No!" Mike and El shot him down immediately. "A first date should always be just you and your date."

"But what if I bomb it?" Dustin was afraid.

"Mike, how about we have our date at the same place but not together." El suggested. "We could share a cab."

"That's actually a neat idea." Mike agreed. "We could have dinner and a movie."

"There's only one restaurant in town that's not fast food, so our options are limited." Dustin pointed out.

"Then we should reserve a table for four, right?" El looked at the guys.

"No, that would be the double date." Mike winked. "We need two tables for two."

"That's so sweet." a familiar voice interrupted them before a freckled blond crashed her arms over Dustin's and Mike's shoulders, resulting in a lopsided pose due to the height difference between the two guys. "You guys are going on a date."

"Yeah." Mike nodded.

"Won't Max and Lucas be mad that you exclude them?" Robin wanted to know.

"They won't be back until the 30th." Mike told her. "At least Max won't be."

"Lucas as well." Dustin confirmed.

"Hey, we could drive you." Robin offered.

"Who is we?"

"Me and Steve." Robin said. "I got a van I can transport up to eight people in. You can save money on a cab."

"You would do that for us?" El asked.

"Sure." Robin giggled. "We pick you up, take you to wherever you want to go and pick you up once you're done."

"We're planning a dinner with a movie after." Mike said.

"No problem, we can go to the movie theater as a group, right?"

"Sure." the others agreed.

"Did someone say date?" another familiar voice startled them.

"Keith, there's nothing for you here." Robin said. "You bombed the date I set up for you."

"That wasn't my fault." Keith said, creepily eating his cheetos like he always did when he worked the arcade.

"Sure it wasn't." Robin scoffed. "Asking her if she brought protection wasn't awkward enough, right? You had to suggest doing it in the arcade."

"What are you even doing here?" Keith asked in his slow way of talking. "The arcade is mine today."

"Careful or I don't let you in here at all anymore." Robin squinted at him.

"Moving along." Keith said and left them alone.

"God, he gives me the creeps." Robin shuddered and turned to the others again. "So, when is this going to go down?"

"December 29th." Mike said. "I think we should get the tables for six o'clock, gives us enough time for the meal before we have to get to the theater."

"Then it's settled." Robin giggled and skipped back into the video store. "Steve, December 29th. Keep your evening free."

"Why?" Steve asked.

"We have a date."

"We do?" Steve looked at her confused.

"Well, El and Mike have." she clarified. "We're driving them."

"And why do I need to be there too?" Steve still looked confused.

"If you think I'm going to sit alone at Benny's while waiting for the kids to finish eating, you got another thing coming." she poked out her tongue at him. "Dustin also has a date, they're going too."

"See, if you had led with that, I wouldn't have argued." Steve laughed. "I am so there to watch my little boy all grown up!"

"Then it's settled." Robin nodded. "Pick you up at five. We're using my van."

"Alright." Steve nodded too and help up his hand so she could give him a high five.

* * *

**Okay, this is it. Other POVs. Lets see how you like my stomach bug infused writing -.-**

**You may have noticed that I may go into a different direction with Robin. The reason I do that is due to the great chemistry between Maye Hawke and Joe Keery. These two give that couple vibe, especially after Hawke's character had told him that she always watches him coming in and how she knows what he eats on certain days. The 'I'm lesbian' for me felt like as if the creators had to include it to satisfy some LGBTQ thing. Never understood that part of the storyline.**

**Review please :) (but be gentle)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Feeling a bit better today, though still not back to normal. Having a chicken soup IV seemed to have helped (joke)**

**353days: The following may sound harsh but it's really not intended that way. Maybe every story makes her not-lesbian because nobody really believes it? When I watched season 3, in no episode did Maya Hawke play her character as a lesbian. No lingering looks at other girls, nothing. But she gave a heartfelt speech in s03e06, when she and Steve were bound together and lying on the floor. And she tells him at the end that she used to be obsessed with him. So her then saying she likes girls came over as contrived.**

**Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against gay angles in shows but it has to believable, especially in its buildup. And for that, I see Will as the one, especially after Mike yelled at him "It's not my fault you don't like girls!" Sure, it could have meant he didn't like girls "YET", but then again... That's why I think that the lesbian angle for Robin was thrown in because if they had planned it from the beginning, they would have hinted at it through her actions.**

**That's just my opinion on this.**

**Oh, and the following chapters aren't written yet, only parts of them. Certain plot points I thought of and have then written out to have them available. I still have to write everything else ^^**

**Alright, enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I write for my own pleasure and that of the readers.**

* * *

"So, you ready for this?" Mike asked as he unlocked the door.

"Yeah." she nodded but he could feel her apprehension.

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." she tried to wave it off as they walked towards the changing booths. "I feel a bit scared about going under water. It reminds me of the tub."

"I see." he nodded and took her hand. "I will be there with you the entire time. If you feel uncomfortable, we can stop."

"It's okay." she released a big breath. "I can do this. I really want to learn swimming."

"Mike?" a male voice startled them.

"Jeez." Mike groaned in shock. "Mister Brown, what are you doing here on Christmas Eve?"

"I told you to call me Martin." the man laughed. "And I could ask you the same thing. When I agreed to let you do your swimming exercise during closing times, I didn't mean you can bring others with you."

"Mister... Martin, this is my girlfriend El." Mike introduced her. "She's on visit from Chicago for the next two weeks and she never learned to swim, so I offered to teach her. And I thought that it would be easier when the pool is empty."

"Hi." El waved shyly at the man.

"And don't worry, I pay the money for her day ticket." Mike added.

"That's very nice of you." Martin smiled and offered her hand to El, which she shook. "Don't worry about the money Mike, I know you would never misuse your privileges. Unlike Jennifer."

"What did she do?" Mike asked.

"She let her friends come in before opening time." Martin explained. "The only reason I didn't fire her is because they paid for the days they were here and because I wouldn't be able to find someone else to work her shifts."

"I see." Mike chuckled.

"But don't tell her the second reason." Martin whispered conspiratorially. "Alright, I'm out, my wife is waiting."

"Bye, Martin." Mike waved him goodbye.

"And no funny business in the water!" Martin shouted with a huge smile on his face, leading to Mike spluttering, his face turning red.

"I like him." El giggled when they were alone.

"Alright, these are the changing booths." Mike showed her a row of doors. "You go in there, change into your bathing suit and exit on the other side."

"Wanna share a booth?" she smiled lovingly at him.

"I would love to." Mike nodded and opened the door. "But unfortunately, these booths are so small that I have trouble moving in there even when I'm alone."

"Too bad." El shrugged with a glint in her eye and walked into the booth, pulling her pants down to reveal her slip before she closed the door.

"You minx." Mike whined and entered the adjacent booth where he quickly discarded his clothes, already wearing his swim trunks.

He exited the booth on the other side and waited for El to come out of hers. He sat on one of the small benches and saw her feet and lower legs, watching how the socks came off before her slip fell to the floor. His mind filled with images of her naked form and he felt his manhood reacting, quickly pushing those images out of his head and thinking of something dull to avoid an erection at this moment.

"How did you manage to change that quick?" El asked, coming out of the booth.

"I already wore my swim trunks under my clothes." he explained, giving a breath of relief when he saw her.

"What's that relieved look?" El had picked up on it.

"I'm relieved that you are wearing a bathing suit instead of a bikini." Mike smiled.

"You don't want to see me in a bikini?" she looked disappointed.

"No, no, no." Mike quickly said. "I mean, yes, I do want to see you in a bikini but not today because I wouldn't be able to teach you swimming."

"I know, I'm just messing with you." El giggled and walked into his arms to give him a kiss.

"We should get started." Mike hummed as his hands found her behind, gently squeezing it.

"Then you should let go of my ass." she looked at him expectantly.

"But I don't want to." he whined.

"Mike, swimming." El ordered and took a step back. "You can touch my butt later."

"I'll hold you to that." he winked. "Alright, first, we take a shower to get water on our bodies. Women is left, men right. We meet at the pool."

El walked into the showers that Mike had shown her. It was a large room with tiles on the floor and walls that contained several stalls, separated by thin walls with curtains to block the view of anyone walking outside. She walked into one and let the waters run, not bothering to close the curtain since wasn't naked anyway and even if they were, she had no problem with Mike seeing her bare. Once she was done, she walked into the pool area, finding Mike standing next to a large body of deep water, his body glistening from the drops of water.

"How deep is it?" El asked, her apprehension coming back.

"This one?" Mike pointed to the pool in front of them and she nodded. "Ten feet. But we won't use this one, we'll be using that one over there."

He pointed to a second pool, this one more elaborate in its shape. He led her around the straight one, it's serene waters not moving and saw the second, the water not as dark as in the other pool and the floor much easier to see. It was also bigger than the first one and had a round-shaped building sticking out of it at one of its edges.

"This is only four feet deep here." Mike said and jumped in, the water only reaching his upper abdomen. "Perfect for learning how to swim."

"Okay." El nodded and sat down at the edge of the pool to put her legs in first before she slid into the it, the water reaching her chest.

"Now, there are several styles of swimming." Mike began to explain. "The one I learned first, and the one we should concentrate on for now is called the breaststroke."

"The breaststroke?" she giggled.

"No, it doesn't mean that I'll rub your breasts." Mike laughed. "Although..."

"Mike, later." El laughed with him.

"Okay, this is a breaststroke." Mike said and showed her, pushing his arms in a circular motion and following that with his legs.

"I can't stay afloat." El complained as she tried to copy what he did, her legs always lowering to the ground.

"Okay, let me help." he said and stepped next to her. "Just do the technique, I'll move with you."

He put one arm under her groin area and the other under her chest, holding her up in the water so she stayed horizontal. While El did the technique Mike had shown her, he walked sideways to always stay with her. At some point, he lowered his arms slightly without her noticing and El kept swimming, her ability to do it rising by the minute.

After roughly an hour, which was interspersed with breaks, his arms didn't even touch her anymore, even though he still kept moving to make her feel safe. El giggled when she realized that she could do the breaststroke and once he heard her exultant whoop, Mike stopped moving and pulled his arms back, letting her swim on her own.

El was shocked at first when he suddenly disappeared from her side but when she realized that she kept swimming, she laughed heartily in exultation, proud of herself at how quickly she had learned. Mike smiled and gave her two thumbs up, kneeling down so only his head was sticking out of the water. El took the invitation and swam over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck after reaching him.

"I did it!" El shouted excitedly. "I can swim the breaststroke."

"I'm so proud of you." Mike hugged her tightly and gave her a kiss.

"So, what other techniques can you teach me?" she asked as she pulled away and stood up, hopping excitedly in the water and noticing his gaze. "Eyes up here, Wheeler."

"The don't hop up and down." he poked out her tongue, causing her to laugh.

"Honey, more techniques." she ordered.

"Okay, this is known as freestyle or the crawl." Mike said and swam a lap back and forth. "This is what I usually do when I do my swimming. The arms alternate while your legs perform a flutter kick. Your face is in the water when your legs kick you forward and you have to turn it to a side to breath when your arms move."

"Is it easier or harder than the breaststroke?" she asked.

"It's a bit harder to learn but once you have it down, it makes swimming easier and it's also the fastest type of swimming." he explained. "Then you have the backstroke, which is almost the same, except you're on your back and your arms move into the opposite direction than with the crawl."

"Those are it?" she wanted to know.

"No, there are more but when you do swimming for fun, you rarely need more." he shrugged. "I can do the butterfly stroke but I find it very taxing compared to the others."

"Can you show me?"

"Okay, look." he said and did a few butterfly strokes, his legs kicking like a dolphin while his arms moved in a fast forward circle. "And as a lifeguard, I also have to do the sidestroke, with which I would pull someone through water."

"What if the person is very heavy?" El asked, watching as he showed her the sidestroke.

"The water usually helps to carry a heavy person." Mike shrugged. "But so far, I didn't have to save anyone."

"Okay, let me try freestyle and you tell me if I'm doing it right." El said and kicked herself forward, trying to copy what Mike had done.

"Close your fingers, don't spread them out." he advised and she did. "Good. Don't forget to do a full rotation with your arm to pull yourself forward."

"Like this?" she asked, doing as he told and managing to move forward.

"Yes, very good." he nodded proudly. "You're a natural."

"No, I probably look like an idiot." she blushed at his compliment though she had to admit that it came easy to her once he had explained how it worked.

"Wanna do some laps in the other pool?" he asked. "You can stay in the outer lane, so you can always hold yourself up if you feel you need a break."

"Sure." she nodded and followed him to the other pool. "Do we get in the same way?"

"Well, I usually jump from the starting block." he pointed to several raised marble blocks. "And this water is a bit colder than in the other pool, so you may want to get in using the ladder, just to be sure that you don't get shocked by it."

El watched him as Mike climbed onto the block and bend from the hips until his hands touched the block. She stared at his behind that was raised in the air and stretched his trunks in a to her eyes most pleasing manner. He jumped into the water, diving under and staying there until he resurfaced in the middle of the pool where he began to kick his legs and rotate his arms. She wondered how he would turn around but before she could worry that he might swim headfirst against the other end, he did a roll under water and kicked off the edge again.

El watched him and couldn't stop staring at how his back muscles moved. She felt heat move down to her abdomen, her teeth biting her lower lip at the thought of those arms holding her, caressing her and doing more than just that. She climbed into the pool and began swimming laps in the lanes, using the breaststroke first to get a feel for it and then switching to the freestyle, though her ability and speed was a lot less than what Mike was doing.

Little did she know that another set of eyes had watched from the moment he stood on the block.

* * *

"That was fun." El said as they were walking towards the exit, Mike carrying the small duffel bag with their towels and swimwear.

"Wanna do it again?" Mike asked. "The pool usually opens at nine in the morning, but it's closed during Christmas, New Years Eve and New Years, so we'd have peace and quiet."

"Gladly." El nodded. "I feel better already. Swimming is so much more fun than running and so much better on my feet."

"You run?" he looked at her surprised.

"Yeah, when I heard you were swimming, I applied to the track and field team at my school and got in." she nodded.

"That's amazing!" he gushed.

"I blew them out of the water, so to speak." she giggled proudly as they exited the building, seeing a girl standing on the parking lot, doing what looked like stretching exercises, currently doing a hip-bend which pushed her butt upwards.

"Stacy?" Mike called over, the girl standing up and turning around, revealing a partially zipped down sweater top with not much underneath. "What are you doing here? You know the pool is closed, right?"

"Oh, hey Mike." Stacy waved. "I'm doing a run."

"Aren't you cold?" Mike pointed to her chest, the outlines of her breasts visible and both Mike and El could see her shiver slightly.

"No, it feels good." Stacy tried to lie but El didn't believe a word. "Well, gotta run."

"That bitch." El ground her teeth and as she watched Stacy move away, she flicked her head slightly and watched Stacy stumble, although she was able to right herself without falling.

"Honey, did you do that?" Mike asked, referring to Stacy's stumble.

"Mike, she wants you!" El huffed.

"What?" he smirked. "No, she doesn't."

"She does." she repeated vehemently. "Nobody in their right mind would run with showing cleavage in ten degree weather with a minus ten windchill."

"Did you just quote the weather channel." Mike chuckled.

"Mike, I'm serious." El hit his arm. "She's trying to take you away from me."

"Honey, if there's one thing I can promise you, no women will ever take me away from you." Mike smiled lovingly at his girlfriend, pressing her kiss to her lips which she returned even though she tried not to.

"Good." she tried to made a mean face, failing miserably. "If she's successful, I will hurt you."

"Come on, lets get home, I think mom will have finished making lunch soon." Mike laughed, taking her hand and leading her their bikes.

They rode the distance to his house, putting both bikes into the garage and walking into the house, finding his mother in the kitchen, tasting the soup from a ladle and nodding. Mike led her upstairs and both changed out of their winter clothes, Mike using the bathroom before both walked down into the dining room, where Ted was busy setting the table.

"That smells delicious, Karen." El commented when she sat down next to Holly.

"Wait until you taste it." Ted smiled at her and went into the kitchen, returning a minute later with the pot, which he placed on a wooden board in the middle of the table.

El waited until Karen had ladled soup onto every plate, beginning to eat when everyone else did too. She felt an explosion of taste in her mouth, humming loudly in appreciation. The soup wasn't watery but not too thick, it tasted like goose without meat and its content of various vegetables added another kick to it.

She saw Mike take a bun from a bowl next to the pot and rip it apart to put the pieces into the soup and biting into them. She copied him, taking one for herself and dunking it into the soup to let it soak before biting into it, humming again at its good taste. Karen smiled at her, feeling her cooking ability validated and noticing a particular attachment to the young woman in front of her, given how her effect she had on Michael had caused Ted to become a better husband.

After dinner, Dustin arrived and together, they retreated down into the basement to watch the movies Mike rented. As they watched It's A Wonderful Life, Holly joined them, sitting in El's lap who caressed her hair and grinning at Mike, feeling loved and accepted. They followed that with a board game that Holly could play before the little girl had to go to bed, leaving the others to watch the second movie. They chose Gremlins, El wondering why Steve had called it a horror movie until the cute mogwai had turned into the monsters the movie was named after.

"You know, those rules are kinda stupid." El remarked.

"Why?" Dustin wondered. "Don't spill water on them or let them get into a bathtub and don't feed them after midnight. And no sunlight if you want to keep them."

"But what about time zones?" El retorted. "For example, when it's after midnight here, it's still before midnight in California."

"It's best not to think about these plot holes." Mike chuckled. "There are movies which would make you crazy."

"Like?" Dustin asked.

"How in some action movies, the characters shoot hundreds of bullets but never reload, like in Scarface?" Mike laughed. "Or that they can beat each other up and then the winners are not even out of breath after?"

"You can be trained." Dustin argued.

"Buddy, Troy ran nose-first into my fist, have you any idea how much that hurt my fingers?" Mike looked at him. "No amount of training makes your knuckles harder."

"And don't forget how every bad guy in those movies can't hit shit." Dustin laughed, accepting Mike's arguments. "They all shoot at the hero and nobody hits while the hero picks them off one by one."

"Can we watch some of those movies?" El asked.

"Sure, we can go to the video store and get more when we return these ones." Mike agreed.

"Well, was a fun movie night." Dustin said and got up. "Time for me to leave."

"Already?" El asked. "We have another movie."

"Saw it already." Dustin told them. "Have fun with it or watch it tomorrow or on the 26th."

"Bye Dustin." Mike waved as his friend exited the basement through the outer door before turning to El. "So, wanna watch a movie or do something else?"

"Something else." she nodded and threw herself at him, pressing her mouth on his.

* * *

"IT'S CHRISTMAS!" a shriek roughly woke them up before a blond bundle of energy jumped into their bed, landing partially on Mike who yelled in pain before rolling out of the bed and falling to the floor.

"Mike, are you okay?" El asked concerned while Holly kept hopping in joy.

"She landed on my testicles." Mike whimpered, his body in the fetal position with his hands covering his private parts.

"Oh no." El couldn't help but giggle.

"It's not funny!" Mike groaned, trying to straighten his posture but failing miserable.

"What's with the yelling?" Ted asked, entering the room through the open door and seeing El and Holly in bed and Mike on the floor. "What happened?"

"Holly jumped into bed and landed... awkwardly on Mike." El explained.

"Oh no." Ted winced, feeling the sympathy pain. "You're going to be okay, son."

"I don't think so." Mike was almost crying. "I'm dying here."

"Give it a few minutes." Ted chuckled. "Holly, leave them alone for now and get dressed."

"I wanna see what Santa got me!" Holly whooped.

"First, get dressed, then we'll have breakfast." Ted said. "I saw quite a few presents under the tree but we only unpack them tonight."

"Okay." Holly nodded sadly and climbed off of the bed. "Mike, why do you sleep on the floor?"

"Are you kidding me?" Mike looked aghast at his sister, who seemed genuinely unaware that she was the cause for his current predicament.

"Did El push you out?"

"Yeah, I pushed him out, he was hogging the covers." El nodded, a giggling Holly leaving the room and closing the door.

"Very funny." Mike groaned, still feeling a lot of pain when he heard noises from the bed. "Are you laughing?"

"No." she giggled before letting out a loud laugh.

"You're so lucky that you're a girl, you don't have this problem." he harrumphed, managing to sit up.

"I am lucky to be a girl, otherwise, you and I wouldn't be here right now." El smiled, pushing herself to the edge of the bed where Mike's head was to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"True." Mike agreed and managed to fight himself to his feet, even though he had trouble straightening himself out. "Wow, that hurt."

"You know, until now I was never really sure if you meant it when you said that I could put own any guy with a kick down there." El giggled.

While Mike was in the bathroom to do his morning routine, El pulled the covers over her head, yawning deeply in an attempt to get back to sleep, Mike's sisters antics having her woken up way too early for her liking. She heard Mike return and peeked out of the covers, watching wide eyed as he dropped his shorts, his manhood visible for a second before he turned his back to her to grab a pair of boxers to wear. That second was all it took for El to feel herself get aroused, wishing for his hands and mouth to be on her.

"Michael, El, breakfast!" Karen shouted, putting a damper on any such plans.

"Why do you people hate sleep." El huffed and got up to get to the bathroom as well.

When she was done, she found the bedroom empty, Mike already having gone down to help his mother set the table. She dressed quickly and joined them, attempting to take the eggs to the table but Mike quickly took them himself, winking at her as a reminder at her failed attempt to balance one on a spoon. As he walked past her, she smacked his ass, causing him to yelp and his parents to look at him funnily as he put down the cooked eggs on the breakfast table.

"So, El, how did the swimming lessons go?" Karen asked after they had begun eating.

"I learned a lot." El smiled happily. "Mike's an amazing teacher."

"Actually, she's quite the natural." Mike interjected. "I showed her how to do it and after a few minutes, she could do it herself."

"That's great." Karen congratulated her. "So, are you going to do it again?"

"I'd like to." El nodded. "It's easier to learn when there's nobody there and I could use the practice."

"So, you're willing to get up at six in the morning?" Mike looked at her.

"Why do you hate me?" El gasped.

"She's really not a morning person." Mike explained with a chuckle. "The only reason she didn't threw Holly out the window is because Holly likes her more than me."

"It can't be that bad." Ted smiled at his son's tale.

"Oh, you have no idea." Mike shook his head, completely serious.

"Mike, you need to laugh, otherwise they think it's true." El whined.

"Well, it is." Mike argued.

"Not to that extent." El moped.

"Remember that sleepover we had once when you punched Dustin?" Mike grinned.

"Hey, he stepped on my hand." El defended herself. "And I only hit him in the leg."

"He was walking with a limp for the entire day." Mike added.

"He was exaggerating." El huffed.

"He was crying after you did it." Mike gave one last detail.

"Yeah, he was." El laughed.

"You too are so cute together." Karen gushed.

For the rest of the morning, El spent the time with Holly, watching Christmas cartoons with her while Mike and Ted went outside to shovel snow from the sidewalk and the driveway. Once they were done, El and Holly joined them outside and together, after Ted had returned to the house, they build a giant snowman, El using her power in an inconspicuous way to get the smaller body parts up.

Mike put Holly onto his shoulder, allowing her to complete the snowman with twigs for arms, two Oreos as eyes and a carrot as nose, the only things lacking the shawl and a top hat. Holly whooped at the view that her vantage point gave her, her tall brother laughing with her as she ate one of the Oreos and complained that the snowman was now half-blind.

El watched this with affection, feeling sad at her own past without ever having had that kind of fun or companionship, other than the few times she was allowed to interact with Kali when she was little. Mike noticed her melancholic state and took her into his arms, wrapping them around her and holding her tight. Holly demanded to be set down and as soon as she was on the ground again, she wrapped her arms around El as well, not knowing why the pretty woman was sad but simply thinking that she needed the hug.

After some more time in the snow, they returned back into the house, drawn by the delicious smell of cooking poultry. El's mouth salivated at the scent and she looked into the kitchen, seeing Karen mash potatoes while the goose cooked inside the oven and a pot of red cabbage boiled on the stove, next to a smaller pot with the sauce.

"Can I help with something?" El asked.

"Nonsense, you're our guest." Karen shook her head.

"But I want to, I don't want to feel like a burden." El argued.

"Fine." Karen smiled. "Do me a favor?"

"What?" El wanted to know.

"If my brother ever does something that makes you mad, don't break up with him but call me. I will make sure he'll never does it again." Karen joked.

"I doubt he will ever do anything like that on purpose." El smiled.

"I don't doubt that." Karen smiled right back at her. "I can see with every look how much he loves you."

"I love him too." El said with determination. "I can't imagine a life without him."

"Okay, lets make the dumplings." Karen changed the topic.

"What do you need me to do?" El asked.

"Take some of the mashed potatoes, pour flour on it and begin rolling it into a snake." Karen told her, showing her with the mashed potatoes she had in front of her. "If the snake is too brittle, add more flour until it's smooth. Then cut it into smaller pieces."

El began to do what Karen had shown her, having a lot slower progress than Karen. When she felt that her snake had the right consistency, she cut it apart and dunked the pieces into the hot water on the stove where Karen pulled them out again with a skimmer, letting them drop off before putting them into a bowl.

Mike entered the kitchen, raising his eyebrows at his girlfriend, and quickly running out of the kitchen before coming back with a camera and snapping a quick picture of El with flour on her face. He then grabbed the plates and brought them to the dining table, where the women then placed the pots before Ted brought out the goose.

"Wow, that looks good." El commented on the bird.

"Dig in!" Karen opened the meal and Mike ladled a dozen dumplings on his plate, adding a generous amount of red cabbage and sauce and receiving one the bird's legs from his dad.

El wondered if he had taken more than he could eat but Mike began ravenously eating as if he had been starving for a few days. He ate everything he had on his plate faster than El did her portion, which was maybe half of his and to her surprise, he even took seconds, making her wonder where all the food was going. Remembering the pizza night, he would probably add another inch in height.

El had to admit, the food was delicious. The dumplings in particular were easy to eat, being soft, almost spongy in their texture and melting in her mouth. It invited to take one after another, even to wipe the plate clean of sauce and before she knew it, she had eaten twenty of them, feeling as if her stomach was expanding into her chest.

"I'm stuffed." El whined and leaned back. "This is way too delicious."

"Told you." Mike winked at her and ate even more of them, adding another piece of meat.

"Do you have a second stomach?" El marveled at her sweetie.

"No, just hungry." he shrugged and finally pushed his plate away after eating the last dumpling.

"Given his growth rate and his exercise, it's no wonder he eats a lot." Karen chuckled and began to clean the table, Mike immediately getting up to help her.

As El watched him move, she couldn't help but picturing his naked body from the morning.

* * *

**Filler chapter again. Sorry about that. Christmas will continue in the next chapter. ^^**

**Still...**

**Review please :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Feeling a bit better now, back to work tomorrow. Updates may take a while again. Unless the chapter gets 10 reviews or more, then I might be inclined to spend part of my free time after work to write ;)**

**CaptainRex21: And don't forget that those infinite ammo guns also never seem to overheat. When I was in the army, me and my squad fired a machine gun to get rid of the remaining ammo during a week-long bivouac (We were fuel and ammo supervisors and we didn't want to list it back in :D). I had to change the barrel twice due to heat.**

**Also, watched Under Siege last night, haven't seen that in years and when Steven Seagal started running with guns blazing, I thought to myself when he was halfway done, this is the moment he should run out of ammo :D**

**Alright, enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I write for my own pleasure and that of the readers.**

* * *

"Thanks, mommy and daddy." Holly giggled, holding her presents to herself.

They had gotten her new clothes since she also began to grow out of her old ones, as well as a new bike, some toys and lots of candy. Mike and El had given her a beautiful unicorn, albeit one made out of plush. Then it came time for Mike to get his presents, his parents handing him a simple envelope.

"What's this?" Mike asked as he opened it. "What the... is this real?"

"Yes, son." Ted nodded.

"What is it?" El asked.

"It's the registration for driving school." Mike looked stunned. "Starting in the spring."

"And it's fully paid for." Ted smiled.

"And this is from me." El grinned and handed him a wrapped gift.

"A sweater." Mike laughed, holding it to his torso. "Finally, a first replacement for the three you took with you to Chicago."

"They're comfortable and they smell like you." El shrugged innocently. "It soothes me."

"No worries, I love when you wear my things, they look good on you." he smiled and gave her a kiss, Holly making more gagging noises before Mike handed a small gift box to El. "And this is for you."

"Mike, this is breathtaking." El gasped when she unlocked the box, finding a beautifully crafted necklace with a small heart-shaped broach hanging from it that had a tiny ruby in its center.

"You can open this and put pictures in there." Mike smiled as he unclasped the heart, opening it up.

"Well, I think we need a picture of you and one of me." El smiled back and pressed a kiss against his lips.

"Ew, gross." Holly commented on their display of affection.

"Oh, photo time." Karen jumped up and ran out of the room to get her camera.

"See, what you've done?" Mike sighed in exasperation, leaning his head back as Karen returned with her camera, gleefully giggling.

At first El had no idea why Mike was so averse to the idea of his mom taking pictures, but an hour later, she understood why. Karen made them pose for dozens if not hundreds of pictures, some of them alone, some as a couple and some with the entire family, those last making El almost cry because Karen simply included her without any afterthought, even though Nancy wasn't present this year.

After the torture, as Mike called it, was over, he asked her to come on a walk with him and twenty minutes later, both were walking slowly through the woods, the lights of the town still visible in the distance. El took a deep breath of the cool air, smelling the scent of wood and some animals, the sensations bringing back memories, which came to the forefront when they passed a small box on the ground.

"What is it?" Mike asked, seeing her cry suddenly.

"This is the box dad put food into for me to get." she sniffed and hugged him, seeking comfort.

"What exactly happened?" Mike asked after she had calmed down again. "I mean, after you destroyed the Demogorgon."

"I woke up in the Upside Down." she told him. "I got up and started calling your name and I ran around in panic because I was alone. Then I saw a red glow and found a small gate back to here."

"And you got through?"

"Yes, I used my powers to make it big enough for me to crawl through and when I did, the school was empty." she nodded. "I ran to your house but I found it surrounded by cars and some of the men there saw me and I had to flee and hide in the woods. I decided to stay there, so I wouldn't put you in danger."

"You could have come back." he whispered, hugging her tight. "I would have hidden you."

"I know but I didn't want to risk it." she snuggled into his embrace. "I spent several weeks in the woods, I killed squirrels and other small animals to cook and eat them. An old man found me while I was doing that and I knocked him out to steal his jacket and hat."

"Wasn't it cold?"

"Very." she nodded. "Early, I found this box, and there was a box of food in it and several eggos. I took them and returned to the box every night and there was food in it every time."

"Hopper did this?"

"Yes, but at first I didn't know." she nodded. "One night, I decided to wait close by and watch who was feeding me. I saw him put more food into the box and when he left, I followed him and showed myself. Then he took me to the cabin. We fixed it up and he taught me morse code."

"Is that where you heard me call you on the radio?" Mike asked.

"Yes and I desperately wanted to tell you that I was there." El sniffed. "But dad said that if I do that, the bad men could find me."

"How was it, living like that for a year?" he wanted to know, both starting to walk again, this time back towards the house, the hour turning late.

"At first it was fine." she sighed. "I felt save, it was warm, I got food. But as the weeks turned to months and I heard you call every night, I started to feel... I don't know, like I was in prison."

"Cabin fever." Mike helped her. "It's when you are cooped up somewhere for a long time and you feel like the roof is coming down on your head."

"That was it." she nodded. "So, one day, I snuck out when dad was at work. I simply started walking into town and reached your school. And there I saw you with Max, she was riding her skateboard around you."

"I remember that." he interjected. "At that point in time, I found her annoying and I didn't want her to be in the party because it felt she was replacing you. Then she said something stupid and she fell from her board. Wait, was that you?"

"I saw you smile at something she said and I was so mad that you seemed to like her that I lashed out." El revealed. "I left right after because I felt so bad."

"I sensed you there." Mike held her hand tightly. "I came out of the gym but the corridor was empty."

"Anyway, when I returned to the cabin, dad was there. He was really mad." El continued. "But I was mad as well because whenever I asked when I could get out, he always said soon. Soon, soon, soon. And when I cornered him about it, asking about a number of days and he kept brushing me off, I kinda lost my temper."

"You mean...?"

"Yeah, windows were blowing out, furniture was pushed over and a door banged shut. I cried in my room." she told him. "When dad had left for work, that's when I went into the void to find mama."

"And then you left for Chicago." Mike nodded. "And came back right in time to save us."

"Yeah." she breathed another sigh of relief, sometimes wondering what might have happened if she had arrived even an hour later.

"Remind me to never piss you off." Mike grinned in an attempt to cheer her up from the bad memory. "At least not while we're inside a building."

"As long as you continue to ignore that bitch's attempt to get to you, you're safe." she giggled.

With El in a much better mood, they returned to the house and watched more Christmas programming on TV.

* * *

"That was a lot better." Mike commented her latest attempt.

"Well, it hurt a lot less this time." El chuckled and rubbed her chest to get the stinging out. "Can you show me again?"

"Sure." Mike nodded and climbed out of the pool again and back on the starting block. "You don't have to put your hands on the block, I just do it because the professional swimmers to it to get an extra boost."

"Huh, I think I'm not vertical enough when I hit the water, am I?" she asked after he had resurfaced.

"Yes, you jump off to flat. For a perfect jump in a race, you need to enter the water at an angle between ten to twenty degrees." Mike explained. "If it's more, you get in too steep and have no speed, any less and you simply splash into the water, also killing your speed."

"I never imagined that water could be so hard." she chuckled.

"Yes, landing on water in a wrong way can be deadly even from low altitudes." Mike nodded. "If you land really badly, you can break your neck even when falling from like ten feet."

"Then how do these people do it that I've seen on TV that are jumping from high cliffs?" El wondered,

"Well, first, these guys know what they're doing. And then of course, they dive in after coming down vertically, so the impact is not as bad." Mike shrugged. "Come on, try again."

"Okay." she nodded and climbed out of the pool, Mike right behind her.

She got back onto the starting block and put her hands on it, right in front of her feet. An appreciative whistle from behind her startled her, making her turn her head to see her love looking at her behind, eyes full of desire. It made her hot just thinking about how his reaction was just from seeing her covered behind, knowing that he'd already seen it naked.

She jumped off, pushing her arms forward and putting one hand on top of the other. This time, she felt the impact a lot less than before, her body entering the water and rapidly piercing through it until her momentum was used up and she surfaced. She whooped in exultation and watched as Mike jumped in behind her, also remaining under water until he suddenly appeared right in front of her, his arms wrapping around her body and his mouth pressing against hers.

"That was perfect." he congratulated her. "I told you, you're a natural."

"That was fun." she giggled but stopped when they were interrupted by a knock on the window next to the lifeguard office. "What was that?"

"Is someone out there?" Mike wondered and turned around, lifting his body out of the water and walking to the window where the knock came from. "It's Dustin!"

"Guys!" his muffled voice came through the glass.

"Dustin?" El asked, joining Mike and staying behind him, only pushing her head past him to prevent Dustin from seeing her in a bathing suit.

"What are you doing here?" Mike shouted to be heard through the glass.

"Your mom told me you're here." Dustin yelled.

"Dustin, wait!" Mike stopped his friend from talking. "I'll open the door."

"Thanks." Dustin nodded and waited while Mike walked into the lifeguard office and retrieved the key for the emergency door, allowing Dustin to come in.

"Stay at the door please." Mike said.

"Why?" Dustin asked.

"Because your shoes are dirty and I don't want to sweep the entire area." Mike chuckled. "What's up?"

"The date is in three days." Dustin started.

"Yeah, so?" El asked, getting over her shyness and stepping out of Mike's shadow.

"I'm nervous." Dustin fidgeted.

"Why?" Mike sighed. "Dustin, she already agreed to go out, the hardest part is done."

"But what if I blow it?" Dustin fretted.

"If you start doubting yourself, you will definitely blow it." El said to him. "Calm down."

"I can give you two pieces of advice." Mike said.

"Hit me." Dustin nodded eagerly.

"One, don't do that growl thing you started two years ago." Mike chuckled. "It's neither funny, nor particularly sexy."

"Fine, and the second?"

"Don't change your hair into that monstrosity from the Snow Ball again." El giggled, Mike nodding.

"Seriously, you two are creepy." Dustin shuddered when he saw how they thought alike.

"If Steve gives you styling tips, listen to his advice, then ask Robin what she thinks and she'll give you the correct advice." Mike laughed.

"One more thing, we planned to go to see a movie after the dinner, right?" Dustin asked.

"Yeah, why?" Mike nodded.

"There's a dance at the old retro cafe." Dustin suggested.

"Isn't that for ballroom dancing?" Mike looked confused. "It'll be mostly old people doing slow dances we can't do."

"Oh, alright." Dustin shrugged. "Movies it is then."

"Hey Dustin, what did you get for Christmas?" El asked before their friend could leave.

"A pair of pants, some sweaters and a new microphone for my Cerebro." Dustin smiled with glee.

"And what was that thing that you bought at radio shack that you wanted to show us after you assembled it?" El continued. "Did you assemble it?"

"I did." Dustin nodded. "It's a relay module for my Cerebro."

"Which does what?" Mike wanted to know.

"I installed it into my Cerebro on Weathertop and now I can activate, use it and deactivate it from home." Dustin almost hopped with glee. "Which means I can now talk to anyone from home without having to trek all the way out there."

"That's cool." El had to admit. "Now you can do what Mike does."

"Yeah, keep rubbing salt in the wound." Dustin squinted his eyes at her when El began to grin.

"Here's another piece of advice." Mike spoke up again. "Don't talk about Suzie unless she asks and if she does, explain who Suzie is but don't spend minutes talking about her."

"Unless you don't want Jennifer as your girlfriend." El added.

"I still don't know if I really want that." Dustin admitted. "I don't know her well enough. Yet."

"Well, after the date, don't leave her hanging." Mike said. "If you don't feel like you want her to be your girlfriend, tell her. Otherwise, it would be unfair to her."

"I agree completely with that." Dustin nodded.

"You're a good man, Dustin." El said.

"Well, thanks for the advice." Dustin took a deep breath. "See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, we can watch movies again or play a game for three or four, if Holly joins us." Mike confirmed.

"Alright, see you then." Dustin waved and left the building, El shivering from the cold air that blew into the building when the door was open.

Mike quickly closed it again and grabbed a mop from the office, wetting it in the pool before swiping the floor to remove the muddy footprints that Dustin had left behind. While he did that, El jumped into the shallower pool, enjoying the warmer water and doing a few swims with breaststroke and freestyle while she waited for her love to join her.

When she saw him jump into the pool, she swam into the, what Mike had called an igloo, which was supposed to be where Eskimos lived. It was even warmer in it, the only opening being the entrance and it was almost as warm as the Jacuzzi that Mike had shown her earlier. Mike leaned against the side, sitting on an underwater bench and El joined him, turning around to sit on his lap.

"Thank you for teaching me how to swim." she said lovingly and leaned into his embrace.

"Thank you for being so beautiful and kind." he replied as he kissed her cheek.

"Mike?" El asked, her voice almost a whisper.

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to have sex with me?" El asked straightforwardly.

"Wha... what?" Mike stammered. "Right now?"

"No." El quickly calmed him. "I mean, in general."

"In general? Of course." Mike quickly nodded. "I'd do it right now if I could. But I am really confused about the whole thing."

"Why?"

"Nancy threatened me not to do it, she even hit me because Joyce took some of Jonathan's condoms to give to you. Told me I was too young." Mike explained. "So, I don't really know if we should or even could."

"Well, legal age minimums don't apply, since we're both the same age." El told him, remembering the magazine article she showed Joyce. "But Joyce gave me the same advice."

"We don't have to rush." Mike said. "I think if we did that, we'd drive ourselves crazy and it would be a very bad first time."

"Agreed." El chuckled and felt his hands caress her body. "That feels so good."

"Yeah?" he smiled and kissed her earlobe. "What about this?"

Her breath hitched when his hand found its way between her legs, gently beginning to rub the sensitive area there. After a minute of caressing her down there, he increased his pressure and speed, causing her to moan loudly into the empty building. He kept whispering into her ear but she couldn't hear it, the blood rushing past making it inaudible and with a scream, she climaxed, her body quivering with the aftershocks of her orgasm.

With a satisfied hum, she let herself go, feeling her body go horizontal in the water. Mike watched her, happy to have caused her current blissful state and watching her float inside the pool. When the lights began to flicker suddenly, he felt apprehensive, his eyes going to her face to see if she was causing it.

When El opened her eyes, she suddenly found herself in the void, her bare feet not making any noise in the water under her feet. With her heart rate increasing from the fear she started to feel, she took a few steps forward, turning her head left and right to see if something was in here with her. A metallic object came into view, four thin poles extending from the ground.

As she walked closer, it became more visible, a horizontal plate with two more metallic pipes bending upwards and another plate attached to them vertically. One more step and it turned out to be a chair, a strange mist surrounding it. El took two more steps and saw a man coming into view, his hands clasped together behind his head. His familiar face was serene but as she took another step to get closer, she saw it move in dismay and the eyes opened, boring into her soul.

"You again!" the man said and the last thing El saw before her head jerked out of the water was the 001 on his left wrist.

"El!" Mike said, almost in panic, as he was holding her up. "What happened?"

"Mike!" El gasped, hugging him hard.

"El, what's going on?" Mike asked, more calmly this time. "You looked like you did a few years ago when you were trying to find Will.

"I was back in the void." El tried to describe her experience. "There was a man there."

"A man?" Mike looked confused. "Hopper?"

"No, someone I don't know." El told him. "I saw him once before, when you were with me in Chicago. I dreamed of him."

"Okay." Mike hesitated, not knowing how to react to his girlfriend dreaming of another man.

"He had a tattoo like mine." El said, startling Mike with that fact. "It said zero zero one."

"So he's someone like you?" Mike wondered.

"I don't know." El held him harder. "But both times, he saw me in the void too."

"Could you draw his face?" Mike suggested. "Maybe we can find out who he is."

"I can try." El nodded and followed Mike out of the pool, both separating to take a shower before they met again outside the changing booths, now dressed in their clothing.

They rode their bikes back home, entering the house through the garage again and after changing, sitting down at the dinner table to eat lunch. It was the same meal as the day before, Karen having made more dumplings, another pot of red cabbage and the leftover meat, which was more than enough for the five of them.

Holly talked excitedly about her new toys, giddy to show them to her friends. Once they were done with lunch, El and Mike retreated into the cellar where El began drawing the face of the man she had seen, trying to remember details to make it easier for them to possibly find him or at least find out, who he was.

"Hey guys." a suddenly appearing Dustin startled them.

"Hey Dustin." Mike nodded to him and turned his gaze back to the paper in front of El.

"What is she doing?" their friend asked when he saw El with the pencil in hand.

"After you left, we went into the igloo in the pool." Mike told him. "And when she laid down in the water, like she did in the tub when she tried to find Will, she went into the void again."

"Wait, your powers are back?" Dustin looked aghast.

"Not like that." El shook her head. "I need to concentrate very hard to do some things but nothing like before."

"That sucks." Dustin was disappointed. "Who this?"

"I saw him." El said quietly. "In the void."

"Is it another Russian spy?" Dustin asked.

"No, I think he's like El." Mike told him. "El said he has a zero zero one tattooed on his wrist."

"Wait, there are more like El?"

"Given she has an eleven on her wrist, don't you think it's likely there were ten more before her?" Mike shrugged. "And she met her sister in Chicago already."

"El has a sister?" Dustin was even more confused.

"Not by blood." El said. "She was raised in the lab too, she's number eight."

"Really?" Dustin gaped. "Can she do the same things you can?"

"No, her powers are different." Mike shook his head. "I've seen them. They're awesome too."

"How?"

"She can make you see things." Mike grinned. "Everything. Dragons, Monsters, whatever."

"Wow, dude!" Dustin hopped in joy. "El, you need to get her here."

"What?" El looked dumbfounded.

"Why?" Mike looked the same.

"Can you imagine playing Dungeons and Dragons with her?" Dustin was beside himself with glee. "She could make us see every monster, we could actually play our characters, not just push miniatures around!"

"You do realize that that could possibly kill her, right?" Mike chuckled at his friend's enthusiasm. "If she's anything like El, she'll get tired when using her powers."

"Still, it would be awesome." Dustin was still hopeful.

"Yeah, it would." Mike agreed. "But I met the girl, I highly doubt she'd play Dungeons and Dragons with us."

"You met her?" Dustin gaped. "When?"

"When we went to that mall in Chicago the first time." Mike answered. "She was there. With her friends."

"Yeah." El chuckled. "Finished."

"Nice." Mike nodded and looked at the face El drew.

"Okay, so how do we find out who he is?" Dustin asked, which was followed by a long silence.

"Uh..." Mike hesitated. "I have no idea."

"Movies?" El asked, starting to laugh at the two.

"Movies." both Dustin and Mike said in unison.

* * *

"I'm telling you, this could become the greatest comedy movie franchise in the world." Dustin stated. "Like, the Star Wars of comedy."

"Dustin, it's Ghostbusters." Mike said. "Granted, it's a great movie, but come on, comparing it to Star Wars? That's heresy."

"Haven't you heard, they're making a second part." Dustin grinned. "And it's definitely going to be better than the first."

"How can you be sure?" El asked.

"Because The Empire Strikes Back was better than A New Hope." Dustin argued.

"That argument is flimsy." Mike smirked. "Star Wars is still the greatest movie ever made."

"I like Disney movies better." El shrugged, Mike looking wide-eyed at her. "What?"

"I don't even know you." Mike gasped. "Who are you?"

"Shut up." El poked out her tongue before pressing a kiss against Mike's lips.

"Dustin!" Karen's voice interrupted them from the basement door.

"Yes, Misses Wheeler?" Dustin called back.

"Your mother called, she's waiting for you." Karen told him.

"But she said I can stay until..." he began, looking at his watch. "Ah, crap!"

"Bye Dustin." El waved as Dustin quickly said his goodbye and ran upstairs.

"Mike, El, can I talk to you?" Karen came down the stairs after Dustin had left.

"Sure." Mike nodded, sitting up on the couch, El doing as well.

"Listen, how would you feel about taking care of Holly for a few days?"

"Uh... what?" Mike couldn't quite understand what his mother was asking.

"Your dad's Christmas present for me was a romantic getaway over New Year's." Karen explained. "We'd leave on December 29th and come back on the 1st. If you don't think you can, we'd take Holly with us and drop her off at my sister's, since it's on the way."

"I have no problem with it." Mike shrugged.

"Me neither." El nodded.

"Wait, the 29th?" Mike remembered. "Uh... we're going on a date on the 29th."

"You two are going on a date?" Karen grinned. "That's so cute!"

"Yeah, I got Dustin a date with Jennifer Hayes and we realized that we never had a real date." Mike explained. "So we decided to go to the same restaurant but at different tables so we can interject with Dustin if he really screws up."

"The 29th wouldn't be a problem." Karen said. "Holly wanted to go to a sleepover at one her friend's house. If she can stay here with you over New Years, she could go there."

"Yeah, we can take care of her." El nodded.

"Great! Thank you so much, you two." Karen gushed and pressed a kiss on Mike's cheek, which he reacted to with an embarrassed smirk and a quick swipe of his hand. "Wait, how do you get to wherever you are going to on your date?"

"Steve and Robin offered to drive." Mike told her.

"Steve Harrington? Nancy's former boyfriend?"

"Yeah." Mike nodded.

"And who's Robin?"

"His girlfriend in all but name." El giggled. "They work together at the video store. Robin as a large van for eight people, she's driving."

"Good to hear that you're chaperoned." Karen nodded. "Good, I'll let Holly know that she doesn't have to go to her aunt."

"Tell her, if she misbehaves, we're going to bring her to the woods and leave her there." Mike called after her.

"No, we won't." El gasped, giving him a slap on the head.

"El, do that five more times please." Karen smirked, knowing that her boy was just joking but enjoying how his girlfriend wasn't allow any shenanigans.

"Ow!" Mike yelled when El did just that. "Stop hitting me! I was kidding!"

"Then don't joke about something like that." El moped and waited until Karen had left. "It's not funny, I know what it's like to get stuck in a forest in winter."

"Oh, I forgot, I'm so sorry." Mike accepted her punishment.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" a blond ball of energy skipped down the stairs and jumped into Mike's lap, with him managing to lift his knees a bit this time to avoid the crotch jump from the morning of the day before.

"But you have to behave and do what we tell you, understand?" El lifted a finger, looking serious at the little girl.

"Yes, El." Holly nodded.

"Good." El smiled. "Now go to bed, it's past your bedtime."

"Yes." Holly didn't even argue.

"Damn, you're good." Karen gasped in admiration. "Would you be willing to move in here?"

"Gladly." El beamed, surprising Karen, who hadn't expected that answer.

"How long are you going to stay down here?" Karen quickly changed the subject.

"We thought of watching another movie." Mike told her. "If you don't find us in my room in the morning, we probably fell asleep."

"Well, you could change into your pajamas before so you don't forget." Karen suggested.

"We can do that." El agreed. "I'm going to take a shower and change into my pajamas."

"Me too." Mike agreed and saw his mother's eyes go wide. "After El is done of course."

"Of course." Karen chuckled and returned upstairs.

El giggled and ran her hand over his shoulders as she walked past him. Once upstairs, she grabbed her pajamas from Mike's room and went into the bathroom, undressing and stepping into the bathtub to take a shower. As the spray of water ran over her, she wondered how it would feel to take a bath with Mike, sitting between his legs and feel his hands running all over her.

She thought back to the morning at the pool, what he did inside the igloo. His hand pressed against her center, his fingers moving over the fabric, making her shiver in delight. She wondered once again how it would feel if he was touching her without clothes separating them or how it would feel to have him inside her.

Shaking off her thoughts for the moment, she stepped out and dried herself off, putting on a different pair of pajama shorts for tonight, one that was looser than the ones she usually wore. Second came the oversized, what was formerly Mike's, shirt that almost went to her knee, completely hiding the shorts and making it look as if she wasn't wearing anything else at all.

"I'm finished." she said as she skipped back down the stairs.

"Alright, my turn then." he nodded and walked past her, his own hand running over her back, making her shiver again.

While he was gone, she walked to the small cabinet the TV and VCR were standing on, rifling through the available movies to find one to watch. With a grin, she pulled a tape out of the stack, not even knowing before that this movie was in the collection. But she decided to believe that it was one of Holly's movies, hence Mike not telling her that he had that too.

"Alright, done." Mike said as he returned to the basement, his hair still a bit damp, making El lick her lips at the absolute hotness of her boyfriend and seeing their toothbrushes in his hand. "Chose a movie?"

"Yep." she grinned and held up the tape.

"Oh no!" Mike groaned and flopped down on the couch.

"Oh yes!" El giggled.

"Alright, but I'll watch that only because I love you." Mike moped and sighed as she put The Princess Bride into the VCR. "Hey, wanna pull out the couch?"

"What?" she asked.

"The couch is a pullout, it can act like a bed." he explained and showed her. "We can use the pillows and blankets from inside the fort."

El pulled a couple of pillows and the large comforter out of the fort, placing the latter on the couch to act as sheets. Mike grabbed another blanket from a cabinet, spreading it out and getting onto the couch after grabbing the remote and placing their juice bottles and the snacks next to them. El hit play and snuggled into his body, putting her head on his chest and feeling his heartbeat while she watched the movie.

When the movie was three quarters done, El hit pause and walked into the basement bathroom and used the toilet before brushing her teeth. Following her example, Mike did the same, El keeping the movie on pause, much do his chagrin, until he had returned and she was in his arms again. After turning off the lights, except for the one in the corner, El hit play again and Mike tried to stay awake until the credits rolled and El turned off the TV

She turned her head to kiss him and pushed him backwards on their replacement bed, almost lying on top of him. As they have done before when they were alone, their tongues danced the slow dance of love, gently moving against each other. Mike's hand moved down her back, along the fabric of the shirt she wore and found the waistband of her shorts.

When he felt her grin against his mouth, he realized the reason for the new, looser shorts. It made it a lot easier for his hand to glide under it, so he used this new freedom to quickly press his hand against her cheek, gently squeezing it and enjoying the feeling. El seemed to like it as well, rolling a bit so she could straddle him fully and give his other hand the chance to do the same thing.

For several minutes, he gently squeezed and caressed her butt, El making low moaning noises that drove him crazy as well. He had no idea if he should take it further but his right hand had its own idea, slowly moving until his index finger just barely touched her most sacred area. She gasped into the kiss and Mike saw it as an invitation to continue, so he added a tiny amount of pressure to hear her gasp again. What he didn't expect was El suddenly stopping the kiss and jumping off the bed before she ran into the bathroom.

"Fuck!" he cursed heavily, using a word he never really said before and put his left arm over his eyes. "Dammit Mike, how could you have been so stupid?"

Busy as he was in wallowing in self-pity, he didn't notice El returning. He only realized that she was there when he felt the couch dip after she had climbed back into it, kneeling next to him, her shirt covering everything but her knees. She gave him a shy smile and he looked at her with complete adoration, her perfect features making her appear like an angel.

"I'm so sorry, I..." he began, but El put a finger on his mouth to stop him from talking.

"Shhh." she smiled. "It's okay. It was just unexpected."

"So..." he wanted to talk again but she wouldn't let him.

"Remember when I tickled you and you promised me that you would do anything I asked for?" she asked.

"Of course, and I meant it." he nodded.

"Good." she sighed in relief. "I want you to kiss me."

"Oookay." he agreed, but wondered why she would use that favor for something so mundane while he put his hand on her face and tried to pull her head down to him.

"No." she stopped him again and pulled off her shirt, revealing the reason she had left the room for.

Mike could only gape at her fully naked form. He had seen her topless and in tight pajama bottoms, he had seen her naked butt but he had never seen her like this. El looked at him and felt self-conscious for a moment, fearing that Mike wouldn't like the look of what she had gotten when she shaved between her legs.

"That looks so amazing." Mike breathed, his voice barely audible.

"I want you to kiss me here." she said and spread her legs, which was somewhat difficult given that she was kneeling and sitting on her feet, and pointed right at her vagina.

Mike just looked into her eyes, finding a mix of apprehension, desire and need. He looked down to where she pointed to, moved his head forward and kissed.

* * *

**Well, well, well ^^**

**Review please :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Well, since I always try to be a man of my word, and since I got the 10+ reviews I hinted at in last chapter's foreword, you deserve your reward and get a new one after a day.**

**And since you wanted a description of the scene after the "kiss", you got it. And don't dare not review it or I will send Sally Struthers to your door with hungry kids to make you feel really really bad about yourself :D**

**Milix: What you can say you can do in more reviews because that's what we writers on here need to keep us motivated ;) And the reason that the scenes aren't longer (yet?) is simply because they're not at that point.**

**Enough of this boring foreword, enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I write for my own pleasure and that of the readers.**

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El felt miffed. Really miffed. Almost pissed. She turned her head and saw Mike's wrist watch close to her face, sitting on the armrest, the green numbers mocking her. 3:12. The colon between the hour and minute went on and off, once every second.

On. Off. On. Off. On and off and on. Every time it happened, another second passed, another second of El lying awake, cursing her boyfriend. She turned her head around and saw the boy she was mad at right now. The glow from the corner lamp gave a soft illumination to his face, his freckles distinguished in the contrast. He was the boy she loved. Who was sleeping soundly without a care in the world. The boy who had sent her to orgasmic heaven a few hours earlier. Twice.

She had been wary to ask him to put his lips onto her vagina. She had wondered how he would react, if he thought the idea disgusting or not. She had read about foreplay and had been eager to try but actually going through with it had been more difficult for her. But when he had moved his head forward, she had only expected him to just kiss her, like she asked, to just give her a peck and move back again.

But Mike had surprised her. Surprise may not even be a strong enough word. He had shocked her. After the kiss, he really had pulled his head back and looked into her eyes while licking his lips, as if sampling her. She knew that her eyes had been full of desire and when he had gotten up, she had feared that it had gone too far and he was about to run in the bathroom himself to clean his lips. But no, that hadn't happened. Quite the opposite.

Mike had grabbed her legs and pulled her onto the couch proper until her head was on the pillows. Then he had sat up and moved in front of her, where he had lain down on the bed and spread her legs before pressing his mouth onto her vagina again. When she had read about it, the book had said it would feel like a very pleasant, intense tickle but in reality, nothing could have prepared her for the onslaught on her senses.

She had had to continuously keep one hand on her mouth to avoid her moans and squeals waking someone. Luckily, Holly and Mike's parents slept in their rooms, as far away from the basement as possible in this house, apart from the attic. Now that she was able to think about it a bit more, she realized that she had given him a lot of conflicting information, wanting him to stop to let her recover but whenever he slowed down, she told him to go harder again.

She looked at him again, her sweetie still sleeping without a care in the world. Why wasn't he wide awake, pondering the implications of what had happened? But no, it was only her whom sleep eluded. As she cursed his peace of mind inwardly, she saw his eyes opening a bit, his eyes focusing on hers before his eyes opened wider and his mouth twitched into a smile.

"Hey." he whispered. "Can't sleep?"

Instead of answering, she couldn't help but kissing him, pushing her tongue into his mouth and reaching for his. It took his tired mind a few seconds before he realized what she was doing and to return the kiss but soon enough, they were pressing their bodies together, the kiss continuing until they had to break apart for air.

"What you did earlier?" El said quietly, her hands on his face. "You need to do that again sometimes."

"Okay." he nodded, still half asleep, and sat up, sliding under the covers and down to her abdomen, where he pushed her shirt up, which she had put back on to avoid anyone from his family finding her naked in the morning.

"I didn't mean now, it's in the middle of the... ooooh!" she tried to stop him but as soon as his mouth was on her, all coherent thought left her brain.

One hand covering her mouth again, El began moaning and panting, her other hand moving under the covers to rest on his head and push him harder against her. She couldn't believe that it was happening again, twice in the same night. Even though she had no experience to compare, she felt that Mike was very talented in doing this and if she didn't know better, she would have thought that he had practiced this before on someone else.

His tongue seemed to be everywhere at once. She felt it flick over her clitoris, run up and down her folds and dip inside her. Over her quiet moans, she could her the suction noises his mouth made when his lips left her skin, while his tongue continued to work on her before his lips got back. She heard him hum as if he was eating a very tasty meal but before she could think anything else about that, she felt herself begin to twitch and her body began shaking in orgasmic bliss again.

"Oh yes! Oh Mike!" she squealed, trying to keep her voice down. "I'm coming again."

"Mmh-mh." he hummed again as if he was nodding and he separated from her as she shook.

When she had calmed down, she looked down at herself, seeing nothing but the bulge under the covers and she pulled them away to look at him. The view was quite strange for her, seeing her half-naked form, her legs spread and his chin resting on her lower abdomen. Mike had his eyes closed and looked as if he was sleeping, albeit with a smile but before she could say something, he opened his eyes again.

"You feel okay?" he asked, his voice having a raspy quality that made her hotter than it should.

"Yeah." she nodded, still somewhat out of breath. "That was mind-blowing."

"Good." he smiled in contend and wondering what he would do now, she saw his fingers move against her folds and spread them apart before his tongue moved against her again.

"Oh my god!" she keened, louder than before now and hoping his parents and sister weren't light sleepers.

"That tastes so strange." he commented. "But I like it. And it's such a cute pink."

"Hrgn!" she groaned when his lips descended on her again, his tongue moving faster now.

His hands spread her legs even further and his head pressed harder against her as if he was trying to find something deep inside her with his tongue. A small part of her brain remembered Max's game of measuring the guys' tongues and how Mike's was the longest and now she was more than happy that Mike had won that contest. Her hips began bucking up, the coil inside her tightening again and when he added his left index finger to the mix, caressing her clitoris with it, she began to mewl at the feeling, a sound she never made before.

"Yes! Yes! YES!" she panted and her hips began bucking in earnest.

This time, he didn't stop what he was doing while she climaxed. His hands pressed against her abdomen, keeping her body as steady as possible while he continued his ministrations. El panted heavily, moaning loudly and not even trying to keep quiet and her shaking became harder by the second until the coil inside her snapped and she just managed to get a pillow over her face when she climaxed with a scream.

After pressing a last kiss on her clit, Mike moved back forward, pressing his lips onto hers and making her taste herself. He rolled off of her again and wrapped his arms around her body, pressing her against him as he fell back asleep, making her gape again at his ability to simply accept that he had brought her to orgasmic heaven twice again. It took her another hour to finally fall asleep.

That sleep lasted for another three hours. Her eyes opened, feeling gummy and heavy and a look at Mike's wristwatch told her the reason for her tiredness. It was only twelve minutes after six, way before her usual wake up time, even when she had school. With a tired moan, she got up and got into the bathroom, flopping down on the toilet and letting go while trying not to fall asleep here.

She made the mistake of wiping her face with cold water, feeling more awake now. As she returned to the main room and saw Mike's sleeping form, her body reacted quickly, heat pooling inside her abdomen again just from the memory of what happened during the night. She still couldn't believe how it had gone down. A simple demand for a kiss on her vagina had turned into four massive orgasms just from his tongue and his comment that she tasted great made her anticipation for a repeat go sky high.

When she had reached the couch, one thing came to her. He had now seen her completely naked, had had his lips on her breasts and vagina, his hands had been everywhere on her body as well but other than a single second from the side, she had never seen his manhood. She thought about what she had read in the book Max had given her, of the description of how a woman could please a man with her mouth.

She knelt down next to him, wondering if she should do it. Mike opened his eyes and smiled tiredly at her before he got up and walked into the bathroom himself, making her take a deep breath at the missed opportunity. Two minutes later, Mike stumbled back into the basement, flopping back down on the couch and stretching his long legs, lying on his back and closing his eyes again.

El licked her lips, unsure if she should simply do it. She looked down at his crotch, something that wasn't missed by Mike and his body reacted, both from seeing where she was looking at and from the memory of what they did last night. For him, it had been a night made in heaven. He had used everything he had learned about it and it had worked, the sounds and the feeling of El climaxing from what he did doing more for his self-esteem than the athletic body he got from the swimming.

"I love you." he said quietly, her eyes turning to him and gazing into his soul.

"I love you too." El smiled and looked back down at this crotch. "Let me prove it."

Before he could ask how she wanted to do that, she had already pulled down his pajama bottoms and released his growing erection with a snap. She gasped at the sight, seeing it a lot bigger than that one second on Christmas morning, and that had been after Holly had painfully landed on it in her eagerness. She wrapped her right hand around it, feeling and seeing it continue to grow and get harder.

"Uh... you don't have to do that, you know that, do you?" he asked apprehensively.

"I know." she nodded. "I want to."

She bent forward and wondered how she should start. She put her tongue against the tip, feeling him gasp and tense up and stopped immediately, wondering if she had done something wrong. His hand moved to her head, caressing her hair and giving her a barely perceptible push down, making her grin.

Remembering something Max had mentioned, she put one finger against the base and the other on the tip, looking at the distance between her digits and giving an inward giggle when she realized that Mike was apparently more endowed than Lucas was. She put her tongue against his base and ran it upwards to the tip, feeling it twitch when she reached the frenulum and Mike's groan told her that he liked it.

After repeating it three times more, she put her lips around the tip, gently sucking on it and running her tongue around the sensitive area of his tip. Mike was already panting hard, the sensations completely new to him but boy, did it feel good! He couldn't believe what she was doing and he made himself close his eyes because he knew that if he watched her, he would shoot his load immediately.

El grinned at his expression, both concentration and pleasure in one and pushed her head down, taking his tip into her mouth completely. It was a strange sensation, feeling the gentle twitches against her gum and tongue and she sucked a bit harder, hearing him groan even louder at what he was experiencing.

She took her time getting used to it, not wanting to take him too deep into her mouth to avoid gagging. She managed another inch, her tongue active the entire time. His groans became more frantic and she knew he would climax soon. She took him deeper again, but this time, she misjudged the distance and felt the tip touch her throat.

"What?" he gasped when she suddenly released him and started to cough. "What happened?"

"I took it too deep." she still coughed, trying to swallow the gag reflex.

"I'm sorry." he apologized,

"What for?" she looked at him confused. "You didn't do anything."

"I don't know." he chuckled. "I can't think straight right now."

"My confused love." she giggled and pressed her lips on his. "You know, there's one more thing I want to do."

"You sure?" he looked at her with wide eyes. "I don't have any..."

"No, not that." she stopped him. "Not yet anyway. But I want to do something we have done already but only with clothing between us."

"Oh." he realized what she meant.

El straddled his hips and pressed herself down on his manhood, feeling it a lot more than before. Her folds parted to the left and right of his shaft, her clit gliding along the skin which was already lubricated from her mouth and got even more lubricated from her arousal. She began moving harder, feeling the caressing on her nub a thousand times better than with clothes on and she wondered how it would feel if he really put it inside her.

"Oh god!" she panted, her hips undulating harder and harder.

Her hands moved into his so she could get better leverage as she sat up. Her upper body weight now pressing her down, she felt as if she was going to explode and although she didn't want to yet, her body moved on its own, grinding hard back and forth, the friction causing sparks of pleasure to go off inside her brain.

Mike on his part felt great as well. When El came forward, her clit was moving over his tip, and he felt the sensation of a growing climax in his body. He looked at the goddess on top of him, her facial expression one of pure bliss and her mouth open in a silent moan. He saw those lips and simply wanted to kiss her, so he pulled her down to press his mouth on hers.

That's where everything went wrong. As soon as his lips were on hers, El tensed up and lifted her head a few inches. When Mike opened his eyes, he saw it wracked with pain, her mouth again open but this time with a silent scream that didn't come from pleasure. His concern for her was so great that it took several seconds for him to realize the pressure around his manhood. It felt as if he was being squeezed by something very tight, warm and moist. A look between them confirmed his fears.

"Oh god, El." he gasped, seeing a tear escape from her eyes.

"Mike." she cried softly. "It hurts!"

"El, move up so it gets out." he quickly said, which was very hard to do, given how it felt for him.

"I can't." she sniffed.

"I'm going to put my hands on your hips and lift you, okay?" he told her and she nodded.

He felt horrible. When he had pulled down El so he could kiss her, she was in the process of moving forward. His extra pull had made her move a few more inches, slightly off of his manhood and it had lifted, so when she moved backwards, it was positioned perfectly for something they hadn't dared to do yet. El's enthusiastic move backwards had done the rest, his manhood entering her completely.

His hands on her hips, he gently lifted her up. Inch by inch, his manhood left her, El whimpering into his ears as she felt the soreness already. It took almost thirty seconds until his manhood was completely out, flopping down to his naval and shrinking rapidly, his concern for her well-being superseding any arousal he got from seeing her half-naked.

"Oh god, this was not how I imagined to lose my virginity." El managed to chuckle after a few seconds.

"El." Mike whispered and she could see tears in his eyes.

"Shh, don't cry." she said, putting her hand on his cheek and kissing him softly. "It wasn't your fault."

"But it was, if I hadn't pulled you down..."

"Mike, stop!" she ordered, sitting up on her knees even though it hurt a bit. "I'm not blaming you."

"But..."

"It was an accident." El said and kissed him again, wiping the tear away that had been running down his other cheek. "I'm fine. Okay, it stings a little, but other than that, I feel okay."

"And here I had our first time so perfectly planned out already." he sighed and chuckled as well, accepting that she didn't blame him.

"Really?" she giggled, snuggling close to him. "How would you have done it?"

"Well, we would have gone to a date, with everything." he replied. "Then I would have taken you home, having made sure before that it was empty that day and then spending our time kissing and undressing each other. And after a long foreplay, I would have gently entered you, making sure you don't feel any pain and only pleasure."

"Aw, that's sweet." she smiled warmly and got up, moving down his body again.

"You don't have to do that." he tried to stop her. "And I doubt it will come back now anyway."

"We'll just see about that." she took the challenge. "You still deserve it."

"I love you so much." he said seriously.

"I love you too." she wiggled her eyebrows and ran her tongue around his tip, feeling it grow rapidly again. "See, it works."

"I retract my statement." he chuckled and began moaning when she was taking him into her mouth again. "Oh god, that feels so good!"

"Mh-mh." she hummed, trying to get his mind off what happened a few minutes go.

This time, she moved her head harder on him, taking him in deeper without having to gag. Mike groaned loudly, his hips moving up whenever she came down, seeking more pleasure. El went all in, her head bobbing up and down, the slurping noises all-encompassing now, at least to them. Less than four minutes later, Mike tensed up and El just managed to release him when he climaxed, his sperm shooting out of his manhood and hitting her in the face.

"Ew, gross!" she laughed and ran into the bathroom to wash her face.

"Sorry!" he called after her, unable to move currently.

"I didn't expect it to be that... explosive." she giggled as she returned, seeing him clean himself with a tissue.

"Can you blame him, given what he was exposed to?" he chuckled and pulled his shorts back up.

"Mmmmh." she hummed after snuggling into his side, her head on his shoulder. "Well, I'm not a virgin anymore. Was it as good for you as it was for me?"

"You..." he stammered but then saw her grinning face. "Okay, if you can make jokes about it already, I guess I should stop feeling guilty."

"Yes, you should." she nodded. "Lets get some more sleep. I got very little last night, thanks to you."

"Why is that my fault?" he asked.

"Oh, you know, thinking of your tongue inside my... pussy." she said, remembering the second name of her vagina from the magazine. "And then waking up at six."

"But that really wasn't my fault." he argued.

"Honey, when I say it was your fault, you say, 'Yes dear, I'm sorry', got it?" she giggled.

"Yes dear, I'm sorry." he said, mimicking her voice.

"Close enough." she smiled and wrapped her arm around his chest.

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"El, are you okay?" Karen asked as they ate breakfast, seeing their guest munch on an Eggo waffle while almost falling asleep.

"She didn't sleep much last night." Mike explained. "And she's the opposite of a morning person."

"Holly was the same last night." Karen nodded. "Too much candy in the evening."

"Yeah, that was probably it." Mike accepted that, a much easier explanation than the real one.

"Michael, I must also tell you that I'm disappointed in you." Karen added, making Mike sweat, thinking that his mother must have heard them last night.

"About what?" he asked, dreading the answer.

"You didn't even call your sister on Christmas." Karen said, Mike letting out a sigh of relief.

"Well, she didn't call either." Mike argued.

"She did call." Karen winked.

"When?"

"Yesterday morning, when you guys were at the pool."

"Why didn't you say anything then, I would have called back." Mike moped.

"Because I shouldn't have to." Karen chuckled. "But Nancy knows that you would be way too occupied with El, so she forgave you in advance."

"Thanks." Mike mumbled and looked at his girlfriend. "El?"

"Mommy, is El sleeping?" Holly asked from her seat, seeing El with her head leaning on her hand, breathing steadily and the remains of the Eggo in her hand forgotten.

"I think so." Karen laughed.

"Don't wake her." Mike stopped his sister before she could shake El. "She will maul you like a rabid wolverine."

"Don't scare your sister." Karen gasped but laughed.

"I'll take her to my room and put her into bed so she can sleep for another hour or two." Mike chuckled and took the Eggo out of his El's hand before lifting her up gently. "Holly, can you come with me?"

With one arm under her knees and one around her shoulders, he carried his sleeping girlfriend up the stairs and into his room. He mentioned for Holly to pull the covers away so he could put her into the bed, tucking her in once she was in and pressing a kiss to her lips and forehead. He left her alone and returned back into the kitchen, where Holly giggled to Karen at how Mike had carried El like his bride, making him smile.

"Mike, where do you see yourself and El go?" Karen asked serious.

"College, jobs, marriage, kids." Mike shrugged. "If she wants to, of course."

"Good." Karen smiled, seeing how determined he seemed to be to make those dreams reality.

After breakfast, Mike helped his mom clean the table and wash the dishes, something else that he only seemed to be doing when El was in town. When Holly wanted to go out to play in the snow, Mike volunteered, getting dressed and playing with his sister who wanted to build another snowman to add to the gigantic one they had built on Christmas Eve.

Some time later, El woke up, feeling a lot better than before. Momentarily disoriented by her surroundings, she smelled Mike's scent, quickly wrapping herself into the covers but a shriek caused her to get up. She walked to the window and looked outside, her heart melting at the sight of the man she loved giving his sister piggyback rides, the blond child shrieking in happiness as Mike tried to imitate a horse, neighing and blowing raspberries to sound like an equine.

Realizing that she was still in pajamas, she quickly changed into some proper clothes and walked down the stairs, finding Karen in the kitchen, preparing their dinner. While she wanted to join Mike and Holly outside, she thought that she had to offer Karen help, not wanting to appear to take her hospitality for granted.

"Oh, look who's up." Karen grinned as she stirred whatever was in the pot.

"Did I fall asleep during breakfast?" El asked.

"Yes, you did." Karen chuckled. "Mike carried you upstairs."

"Wow." El rubbed her face. "That never happened before."

"You still want to..." Karen asked, holding up the half-eaten Eggo but El ripped it out of her hand immediately. "... finish that?"

"Thank you." El mumbled.

"You really like them, do you?" Karen chuckled.

"Yes, I do." El nodded and quickly finished the waffle. "Can I help with something? What's that anyway?"

"Nonsense, you go join Mike and Holly, if you want." Karen smiled. "And this is our lunch, lentil soup."

"Okay." El smiled and walked to the hallways to put on her jacket, hat and gloves.

"El!" Holly shouted when she joined the two in the backyard.

"Hey, little one." she waved at the girl, Mike throwing her on his shoulder again and galloping over to her.

"Brrr." Holly cooed, pulling Mike's hair to get him to stop.

"Iiihiihiihihi-phrrrr." Mike imitated a horse's neighing again, even pawing the ground with his right foot, making El laugh.

"El, look, the snowman now has a younger brother." Holly pointed to their left, El seeing a snowchild next to the big snowman.

"That's very nice of you to give him some company." El smiled at the girl.

"El, you wanna ride Mike too?" Holly asked innocently but causing both Mike and El to cough in embarrassment, both aware of the double meaning of that word.

"Yes, I would very much like to ride him." El replied, giving Mike a wink.

"Wanna do it right now?" Holly asked, Mike spluttering and blushing again.

"Sure." El couldn't help but laugh at Mike's reaction.

"Mike, let me down!" Holly ordered and turned to El as soon as she was on the ground. "El, now you can mount and ride him."

"Okay, little one." El still laughed and climbed on Mike's back, who then began skipping forward like a horse, a little more difficult for him this time, given that El weighed a bit more than Holly.

"Go El!" Holly yelled. "Ride him hard! Really wear him out!"

"Seriously, she has to understand what she's saying." Mike groaned to El's hearty laughter.

"Mike, she's six, she doesn't understand it like you and I." El pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"It doesn't help that I understand it the way that I do." he chuckled.

"Shut up and hop along." she laughed until they heard a click.

"That's so cute." Karen gushed, putting down the camera and going back into the house.

"My mom and her camera." Mike sighed and let El down again.

"I wanna see that picture later." El shouted.

"Sure thing!" Karen shouted back. "Did Mike complain?"

"Yep!" El shouted again.

"Seriously, it's so mean that all the women in my life are ganging up on me." Mike gave a mocking sniff.

"But you love us all." El giggled, wrapping her arms around him and looking up at him.

"And I love you the most." he smiled down at her and dropped a kiss on her lips.

"Ew, now you got my brother's cooties." Holly gagged.

"Wouldn't want anyone else's." El winked at the little girl who then threw a snowball at her. "Oh, it's on!"

"Mike, help!" Holly shrieked when El began throwing snowballs back at her.

"Oh no." Mike shook his head and sat down on the porch swing, even though it was a bit stiff from the cold. "You tickled my butt."

"Aaaaah." Holly yelled in joy when engaged in the snowball fight with El, though El was gentle with her throws before making snow angels with the little girl.

Mike looked on, smiling warmly at El and Holly and their fun together. And from the kitchen window, Karen saw the same thing, a similar smile on her face when seeing how well Holly took to the girl who stole her son's heart.

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**Well, that was it for this chapter. Was the "kissing" scene to your liking? :D And who would have thought I write an accidental defloration? :D**

**Review please :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**As promised before, since I got quite the feedback for the last chapter, I decided to spend some time after work writing this one. Hope you like it :)**

**Neil: You can give your feedback without suggestions, you know? ^^**

**Strangerer Things: Something for you in here, though a bit changed ;)**

**Now, enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I write for my own pleasure and that of the readers.**

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"Okay, you got the number of where you can reach us?" Karen asked, doing some last minute tasks.

"Yes, we do." Mike nodded, pointing at a sheet of paper hanging above the coat hanger.

"It also has the number of the Gundersons where Holly will be tonight." Karen added. "I spoke to Misses Gunderson and told her that we won't be back until the 1st, so she'll drop off Holly after her sleepover."

"Does she know that I work in the mornings?" Mike asked.

"Yes, she'll drop Holly off at three in the afternoon, so you have enough time to come home." Karen nodded.

"Honey, we have to leave if we want to keep our reservation." Ted called from the car.

"Holly, come on." Karen said to her daughter who was giggling in anticipation of her sleepover.

"Bye El." Holly waved at the other girl.

"Bye, little one." El waved back. "See you tomorrow afternoon."

"Okay, do you want to stay here today or come with me to work again?" Mike asked.

"I'll come with you again." she smiled. "Wanna change together?"

"No." he shook his head, surprising her.

"Why not?"

"Because we did that yesterday and it resulted in us getting there late." he chuckled and pressed a kiss on her mouth. "Lets pack our stuff, we can change at the pool."

"It's not my fault we were late." she said.

"It was, you started it." he grinned.

"Then you shouldn't have flaunted your penis like that." she moped.

"It's always there, I can't change that fact." he shrugged. "You were the one who attacked me."

"Well, if you hadn't pressed your mouth against my pussy afterwards, we wouldn't have been late." she argued.

"Lets pack our things." he laughed.

Giggling, she skipped up the stairs, putting her bikini into the bag before she added two towels, soap and a pair of flip-flops. Mike came in after, grabbing his bag and packing two towels as well plus his red working trunks, emblazoned with the logo of the pool to denote him as the on-duty lifeguard. He grabbed both bags and carried them outside, keeping both slung around his shoulders as they got on their bikes.

Half an hour later, they arrived at the pool, a few people already waiting outside. As they chained their bikes together behind the pool, another bicycle screeched to a halt next to them, a familiar girl jumping off of it.

"Hey Jennifer." Mike greeted his colleague. "You got called in as well?"

"Yeah, Martin asked if I could do the morning shift at the entrance desk again." Jennifer nodded. "I thought to myself, since he's paying extra for us to come in, I could sacrifice a few hours. Plenty of time to get ready for the date later."

"Did Dustin tell you about the plans?" Mike asked as they walked around the building to the main entrance.

"Yes, your friends will pick all of you up before me and be at my house at five-thirty." Jennifer nodded. "Then they'll bring us to the restaurant and afterwards to the movie theater and back home again."

"Good." El nodded. "And don't worry, you and Dustin will have peace and quiet, me and Mike have our own table."

"Good." Jennifer smiled. "Don't get me wrong, I've nothing against a double date but the first should be just me and him."

"Couldn't agree with you more." Mike grinned as they reached the entrance, several people already waiting. "Morning everyone."

"Good morning, Mike, morning Jennifer." a middle-aged woman greeted back, everyone else nodding a greeting as well.

"Seems like everyone ate too much during Christmas." Mike chuckled, causing a ripple of laughter.

"I don't get it." El said as they walked to the entrance desk, Jennifer taking her seat behind it and opening the register while Mike walked through.

"They need to get rid of the weight again." Jennifer grinned and handed El a locker key. "Go on through."

"Thanks, Jen." Mike nodded. "I'll give you the money later."

"No worries." Jennifer winked at them and began checking in the next customers while El and Mike walked to the changing booths.

Taking her time with changing, she heard Mike exit his booth and walk towards the showers after he told her that he would. She put on the bikini, pulling at the fabric to optimize the fit, wanting it to accentuate her figure so that Mike would never even think of another woman. When she was satisfied, she took her clothes and put them into the locker, locking it and putting the key band around her wrist before heading to the showers.

When she exited to the pool, she saw Mike inside the office to the side, talking to the pool owner. A minute later, he came out and his eyes bulged out when his eyes fell on her, El wiggling her eyebrows while she pushed out her chest. As he passed her, his hand caressed her hips and he pressed a kiss onto her shoulder.

"You look amazing, I could drag you into the igloo right now." he whispered before he walked to the high seat at the opposite wall.

El let out a shaky breath, a little annoyed that it had been so easy for him to turn the tables on her. She looked after him, seeing his broad back and suppressing the urge to run after him to drag him into the igloo herself to feel his tongue on her again. Deciding to do a little swimming, she climbed the ladder into the pool, getting used to the colder water and doing a few laps, her speed and technique still not even close to Mike's but already pretty good.

Mike watched her the entire time, seeing her body move and he couldn't help but lick his lips when he saw her behind moving through the water, especially when he thought about what was underneath that fabric. Lifting one of his legs to hide his erection, he concentrated on other things, watching other people until his manhood was flaccid again and deciding to not stare at El again while he did his shift.

Finishing twenty laps, a new record for her, El climbed out of the pool, taking a few deep breaths to recover from the exertion. She got under one of the shower heads and let the regular water clean the chlorine from her skin before she sat down on one of the deck chairs to Mike's right, deciding to watch the boy she loved while he looked everywhere to make sure nobody got into trouble.

"Hello there." a voice she remembered from somewhere came from behind her before a familiar face came into view. "Haven't seen you here before."

"I'm just visiting." she replied, realizing that the guy apparently didn't recognize her.

"I'm Troy." the resident school bully introduced hhimself to her.

"That's nice." El gave him a fake smile and saw Mike shoot daggers at Troy out of his eyes, giving him a minute shake of her head to calm him.

"What's your name?" Troy asked.

"Doesn't matter." she shrugged. "Not interested."

"Oh, come on, sweetie, don't be like that." Troy tried again, not wanting to strike out with his friends looking and snickering behind him.

"Be like what?" El asked him, curious what he meant by this.

"So... frigid." Troy hesitated, not having expected that question.

"Excuse me?" El looked with big eyes, playing the insulted girl but inwardly concentrating on something specific.

"What I meant to say was..." Troy began but then stopped, a shocked look on his face.

"Dude, Troy shat himself." one of his friends began laughing, the others following suit when a brown spot appeared on the back of Troy's trunks.

"EW!" El shuddered and jumped up from her chair get away, keeping the disgusted face until her back was to Troy and she gave a wink to Mike who had to suppress a smile.

"Troy?" Mike called down to the guy. "You may wanna get to the toilets."

"You did this somehow!" Troy pointed at Mike and began moving towards him but El slightly flicked her head and Troy slipped on some water, falling ass first on the tiles, the poop in his swim trunks squishing out of its sides.

"Seriously?" Mike sighed and looked straight to the offices where Martin looked up to meet his eyes, flicking his head to urge him out of his office.

"Mike, what's going on?" Martin shouted from the door.

"Troy crapped his pants and then fell down, and now there's poop on the floor." Mike deliberately shouted, causing the entirety of the present customers to erupt in laughter.

"You should leave now." Martin sighed at Troy when he reached him, carrying a bucket and a mop.

Troy ran out of the pool area, the laughter of everyone following him while Martin began sweeping the area with the mop, muttering curses all the time. Mike looked at El, who gave him a smile and turned her hips left and right, her arms crossed in front of her abdomen, her appearance the image of innocence. He could only chuckle and shake his head, causing her to grin brightly, and he stepped off of his high chair to give her a kiss.

"So, you can't use your powers until you concentrate but you can make Troy shit himself just like that?" he murmured to her.

"I don't know, when he said I was frigid, something happened and I guess humiliating him comes easy." she shrugged and pressed another kiss to his lips before he had to climb back up.

With a satisfied grin, she laid back down on another chair, waiting for Mike's shift to end. At one, Mike climbed down from his high chair, making room for Lucy, a twenty-two year old woman who quickly became the object of drool for almost every teenage boy in the pool area. Mike took El's hand and both went to shower, changing back into their regular clothes and meeting at the food stand where Martin was back at work.

"Guys, you want some fries?" Martin asked. "On the house, as a thank you that you came in to work."

"Sure." Mike nodded, El as well.

"So, El, how did your swim training go?" Martin wanted to know as he put a cardboard bowl filled with fries and ketchup in front of them, along with two plastic forks.

"Oh, great." El smiled, eating a fry. "Mike's a great teacher."

"She's also a natural." Mike added. "Learned breaststroke and freestyle in an hour."

"That's great." Martin nodded. "Are you free tomorrow too?"

"Only in the morning, same time as today." Mike nodded. "My parents are on a romantic getaway and we have to take care of my sister."

"Holly is on a sleepover tonight and she stays until three in the afternoon tomorrow." El explained.

"Hence my willingness to come to work." Mike smiled.

"That's great." Martin sighed in relief. "Lucy can only work in the afternoons and my wife does her housework in the mornings, so she also can only work at the desk after lunch."

"There she is." Mike said when he saw Martin's wife enter the building.

"Hey honey." the woman greeted her husband. "Mike."

"Misses Brown, nice to see you again." Mike smiled at the older woman.

"I told you to call me Clair." Clair smiled back. "I better release Jennifer from her cell. The young lady has a date tonight."

"I know, these two as well." Martin chuckled, pointing at Mike and El.

"And who is this young beauty?" Clair looked at El proper.

"Clair, that's my girlfriend El." Mike introduced her.

"El?" Clair asked as she shook El's hand.

"Actually, my first name is Jane." El stuck to the cover story. "El is the short form of my middle name, Eleanor."

"That's a beautiful name." Clair smiled. "Alright, off you go."

"See you tomorrow!" Mike called out as they left, their bags slung over his shoulder again.

* * *

"Holy crap and Christ!" Mike gasped when El came down the stairs.

She was wearing a tight, dark blue dress, that ran down to her knees, hugging her body tightly and not leaving much to the imagination. Thin straps over the shoulder held it up and Mike was keenly aware that she wasn't wearing a bra, the tight fit of the dress in the chest area also not leaving much to the imagination.

El felt a little self-conscious but she wanted to look pretty for him and his eyes told her that her goals had been met. Mike did a masterful impression of a fish, his mouth opening and closing as he gaped at the stunning goddess that was his girlfriend. She looked him up and down as well, seeing his subtle but elegant clothing, not quite a suit but close enough, a tie rounding out the picture.

"For you." he stammered, finally snapping out of his stupor, and held a red rose out for her.

"Thank you." she smiled warmly at him and took a whiff from the flower. "Shall we?"

She put her arms into the jacket he was holding up for her and zipped it shut before they left the house, rose still in her hand and Robin's van already waiting. El hurried to the vehicle, the cold air going against her exposed lower legs and she quickly jumped into one of the seats in the back, Mike also following once he had locked the door.

"Looking good there, El." Robin complimented her. "You too, Lurch."

"Thanks." Mike smiled, deciding to accept the nickname, something Robin must not have expected given her facial expression at his lack of outrage.

"Damn El, you clean up nice." Steve nodded appreciatively.

"Steve, she's fifteen!" Robin smacked him over the head.

"Hey, watch the hair." Steve complained. "And me complimenting her appearance doesn't mean I want to get her into bed."

"So, when you ask those other girls out and compliment on their appearance, you don't want to get them into bed?" Robin looked at him.

"Well... yeah, but that's different, they're older." Steve argued.

"Wow, Dustin was right. Husband and wife." Mike chuckled.

"Shut up, Mike." both harrumphed.

"So, did Dustin ask you two for advice?" El grinned at their antics.

"Yeah, the little guy did the right thing and came to me for fashion advice." Steve smiled smugly.

"And then he came to me for the real advice." Robin added, causing Steve to gasp.

"He did what?" Steve asked in a much higher pitch than before. "That little bastard!"

"Oh, be quiet." Robin grinned and drove them to Dustin's house where he was already waiting at the door, quickly running into the van when Robin pulled over and waited.

"Hey guys." Dustin smiled, looking dapper in his attire.

"Dusty-bun." Robin giggled.

"Ingrate." Steve moped.

"So, you told him that I came to you for advice?" Dustin directed at Robin.

"By accident." Robin shrugged. "Okay, where to?"

"Here's the address." Dustin handed her a piece of paper.

"That's close." Robin nodded and started driving again, arriving at Jennifer's house only five minutes later.

"Well?" Steve looked at Dustin.

"Well what?" Dustin retorted.

"What the...?" Robin gasped. "Dustin, move your ass out there and knock on her door."

"Right." Dustin got it and quickly exited the van.

"Not a good start." El remarked. "Dustin!"

"What?" Dustin turned around.

"Here." El handed him the rose Mike had given her.

"Oh thank you." Dustin was genuinely relieved, realizing that he had brought nothing.

"Oh, don't look at me like that." El giggled at Mike's expression. "I'll make it up to you later."

Dustin walked to the door of the Hayes residence and knocked, waiting ten seconds before the door opened, revealing a stunning Jennifer, who was wearing a beige dress, longer than El's but no less form-fitting, a jacket that ended at her stomach over her shoulders to protect her from the cold. Dustin gaped at her, his eyes wide and he barely managed to take a breath when he noticed that he was still carrying the rose.

"For you." Dustin stammered and held out the rose.

"Oh, thank you." Jennifer smiled warmly.

"Mister Hayes, nice to see you." Dustin nodded at Jennifer's father, who was standing threateningly behind Jennifer, her mother smiling next to him.

"Where are you going on your... date?" her dad asked.

"Dad, you know where we're going, there's only one real restaurant in Hawkins." Jennifer sighed in exasperation. "And afterwards, we're all going to the movies."

"And who is all?"

"Sir, you see that van?" Dustin pointed to the vehicle. "My friends Mike and El are in there too as well as Steve Harrington and his wife Robin."

"Steve Harrington got married?" Misses Hayes asked surprised. "When did that happen?"

"Well, they're not married, we just call them mom and dad because they have this friendly bickering like they have been married for twenty years." Dustin explained. "They will drop us off at the restaurant, then pick us up, go with us to the movies and then bring everyone home again."

"Good." Misses Hayes nodded and gave Jennifer a kiss on the cheek. "Have fun, you two."

"But if you have too much fun, I'll bring the wrath of god down on you." Mister Hayes threatened and retreated into the house.

"I get the feeling your dad doesn't like me much." Dustin shuddered, and not from the cold.

"Don't worry, my dad is a teddy bear." Jennifer giggled. "He just likes to scare boys if they try to go out with his little girl."

"Well, shall we?" Dustin offered her his arm, which she took.

"Hey there." Robin greeted their last pickup. "I'm Robin."

"And I'm Steve." Steve added.

"And we're your chaperons." both said in unison, laughing at their joke.

"Seriously, that was creepy." Dustin remarked on that.

"Nice to meet you." Jennifer greeted them.

"They're husband and wife." Dustin explained, pointing at the two.

"No, we're not." Steve sighed but Robin couldn't bring herself to smile, her thoughts about this still a mess and rather kept her eyes on the road as she began to drive.

She turned the car around and drove down the street, turning onto main street and going straight until they reached the restaurant. In the distance, they still could see the outline of the ruins of the mall, now condemned and made off-limits by the government due to the Russian bunker underneath it. She parked the van in front of the building, waiting for the kids to exit.

"We'll be back here at eight." Robin called after them. "The movies start at nine, we'll have plenty of time to get there."

"Have fun, kids." Steve waved.

"Bye mom, bye dad!" Dustin shouted with a grin, receiving a raised middle finger from Steve in response.

Mike announced their arrival to the usher and the group was led to two tables next to each other, making it possible for them to talk to each other but still giving them the space they wanted. The waiter poured complementary water into the glasses already on them and left them with menus and baskets with bread sticks.

"Wow, this looks good." Dustin salivated at the pictures next to the names of the menus.

"And don't you dare order a pizza." Mike told him as he perused the offers.

"Please, give me some credit." Dustin shook his head.

"Have you decided?" the waiter asked after he returned to their table.

"I'll take the creamy shrimp linguine." Mike told him.

"And I take..." El began but then her eyes fell on another dish. "Scratch that, I'll have the four cheese linguine with prosciutto."

"Very good." the waiter nodded.

"Did I spell that right?" El asked with a chuckle.

"Close enough." the waiter smiled at her.

"What is this prosciutto?" Dustin asked the waiter.

"It's essentially Italian ham." the waiter told him. "Sliced thinner and it's darker."

"I'll have the creamy Tuscan sausage pasta." Dustin told the man.

"For me the pasta in prawn butter sauce, please." Jennifer gave her order.

"Very good." the waiter nodded to them and left them alone.

They spend the wait for their meals doing idle chatting, their determination to have separate dates thrown out the window due to their proximity. Jennifer and El bonded over talk about their respective dates, El sometimes making Mike blush with details about him that nobody knew outside their party.

Jennifer even told them secrets about Stacy, who was always trying to appear to be the popular girl that everybody loves but was secretly deeply insecure about her status since entering high school. But what Jennifer kept to herself was her thoughts about Stacy regarding Mike, though she got the feeling that El knew at least something already.

They were interrupted by the waiter bringing their food, placing the dishes in front of everyone of them. El's mouth salivated, and she gleefully took her fork to mix the pasta with the cheese sauce, seeing it mesh together in a delicious mountain. As they ate, they kept feeding each other samples of the other's food, even Dustin, who was notorious for not sharing, letting Jennifer have a taste, even from his own fork.

They took their time, knowing they had ninety minutes to finish before they had to stand outside for their ride. Once everyone was finished, the waiter appeared and took the dishes away, leaving the kids with a dessert menu from which El quickly chose tiramisu, Mike joining her so they could share. Dustin shrugged and did the same with Jennifer, the waiter smiling at the group as they ordered.

Even the most fun evening had to come to an end sometimes and after Mike and Dustin had paid for their respective partners, they waited outside, looking down the street to see if Robin had remembered the time. A screech of tires announced the arrival of the van before it became visible, the vehicle swerving around the corner and almost crashing into a parked car before it came to a halt in front of them.

"Jesus, next time I'll drive." Steve gasped, his knuckles white from holding on to the fear grip above the window.

"Hey, we're alive and on time, so screw you." Robin poked her tongue at him. "You guys had fun?"

"Yeah, the food was amazing." Dustin nodded.

"The bill not so much." Mike laughed and looked at El. "But it was worth it."

"Totally." Dustin agreed.

Robin drove them the short way to the movie theater, the group quickly getting out of the car and into the building to escape the cold, which was more felt by El and Jennifer due to their dresses. Both girl got their share of stares as they walked past, women dressed like that a rare sight in the movie theater and Mike stood protectively behind her as El perused the available movie options.

"Look guys, Moonwalker is still running." Dustin pointed at one poster.

"What's that?" El wondered before seeing the face of the main star. "It's Michael Jackson!"

"Yep." Dustin nodded.

"Michael Jackson did a movie?" El gasped. "We're so watching this!"

"Okay." Mike chuckled at her enthusiasm.

"Count us out." Robin waved it off. "Steve, Hellraiser two?"

"Hell yeah." Steve nodded and walked to the counter to buy tickets and then some popcorn.

Mike and Dustin followed Steve, paying for their tickets and getting some refreshments as well. After handing them to the usher, who ripped a piece off of each ticket, they filed into the large room, sitting down on the chairs they paid for. El snuggled into Mike's side, his arm over her shoulder and the bucket of popcorn on the armrest between them, both taking pieces out.

After suffering through a few ads and trailers, the lights went out and the movie started. El was fascinated by the picture, though after a while it occurred to her that this wasn't a movie in the normal sense, more like a series of music videos she had seen on MTV. It was still fun though, and the extended version of Smooth Criminal had her stand up and dance with it. Luckily, the theater was almost empty and nobody was bothered by what was for Mike a dancing goddess.

"Dude, that was weird." Dustin said after the movie had ended and they were coming back out.

"Do you see Robin and Steve anywhere?" El asked.

"I think their movie is still running." Mike shrugged.

"I'm surprised they're showing a movie like that at nine." Dustin remarked.

"Well, we went to see Day of the Dead at nine, remember?" Mike pointed out. "It's usually the ushers job not to sell tickets to people too young to watch it."

"True." Dustin accepted.

Everyone used the toilets to pass some time before sitting down on a bench to wait for their drivers. El sat on Mike's lap, both watching the other couple to see how it was going between the two and going by the dopey smiles, El thought it was going good. Around ten minutes later, Robin and Steve exited their theater, both laughing which seemed strange given that they had just seen a horror movie.

Both hurried to the bathrooms as well before returning to the group, chatting excitedly about the amount of blood spilled in their movie. Mike shook his head in mirth and followed the two out of the building and climbed into the van after Robin had unlocked it. She drove to Jennifer's house first, both the girl and Dustin getting out and their friend dutifully escorting his date to the door.

"Come on, buddy." Steve mumbled. "Do it."

"Do what?" El asked, watching too and they all saw Dustin lean forward, Jennifer going the rest of the distance and their mouths connected, just before the door opened and her father stood in the entrance, glowering down at Dustin who seemed to shrink.

"Yes! Well done, little guy." Steve gave backhand high five to Robin who leaned on his shoulder so both could look out the passenger side window.

"See you, Jennifer." they heard Dustin yell as he ran to and jumped into the car. "For the love of god, drive drive drive!"

"Dustin, he's not following you." Robin laughed and started the car again, waving at Jennifer who still stood in the open door. "And wave at your girlfriend."

Dustin waved at Jennifer before her father closed the door and Mike closed the sliding door of the van. Robin drove to Dustin's house and let him out as well, Steve giving him a fist bump as congratulations and both El and Robin hugging him. She then drove to the last stop, Mike getting out first and holding out his hand so El could take it.

"What a gentleman." Robin gushed at his chivalry before driving off.

* * *

After waving goodbye to a broadly grinning Robin and a smirking Steve, Mike opened the front door for El, stepping aside to allow her to go in first. Once he had closed the door, he took El's jacket as she took it off, hanging it up before taking off his own. He wrapped his arms around his girlfriend and pressed his lips on her neck, El bending her head to the side to give him more room to let his lips roam.

"Mh, I wanted to do this all evening." he hummed, gently biting her skin and soothing it with his tongue.

"I wanted to feel you do this all evening." El giggled and wiggled out of his grasp. "So, Dustin has a real girlfriend now, how great is that?"

"I'm happy for him." Mike agreed and watched as El slowly moved towards the stairs, quickly starting to follow her.

"Maybe we can do a real double date before I leave." El said, her comment bringing a pang of sadness to both of them at the realization that in less than a week, they would be apart again.

"Or a triple date with Max and Lucas, since they'll be back tomorrow." he agreed and stopped walking to enjoy the callipygean spectacle in front of him.

El turned her head and saw him standing a few steps below her, realizing where he was gazing at. Grinning, she smoothed down her dress, accentuating her behind even more and saw him swallow hard and she continued up the last few steps, sashaying her hips with every step. When she turned the corner towards his room, she heard the pounding of his feet as he ran up the stairs, reaching her as soon as she stepped over the threshold.

"I love you." he breathed and set his lips on her neck again.

"I love you too." she moaned and turned around in his arms so she could kiss him.

Feelings his hands run over her back, she felt the now familiar heat move down to her abdomen. She felt his fingers rest on the zipper at the back of her dress and after several seconds, he moved them away. The entire process repeated twice, El growling in frustration at his hesitation and, taking the matter into her own hands, she turned them both around and pushed him away, causing him to land on his bed.

She put her arms behind her back and pulled down the zipper before pushing off the shoulder straps, letting the now unfastened dress fall down to her feet, Mike's eyes bulging out at what he saw. He had known from the beginning that she hadn't been wearing a bra but a bigger surprised was the underwear she was wearing. El hat chosen a thong, something he had never seen on her and when she saw his eyes, she slowly turned in a circle, showing him how her behind looked in it before finishing her twirl with a grin.

"You are so beautiful." he gasped, the bulge in his pants telling her enough of how he body reacted to her appearance.

"And you're wearing too much." she giggled and slowly climbed on the bed, crawling towards him like a tiger stalking its prey.

As he fumbled off his tie, she unbuttoned his pants and pulled them down, leaving him in his underwear and socks when he finally managed to open the last button on his shirt and get it off as well. She chuckled as she pulled his socks off, throwing both at his face, which he evaded with a squeal, making her laugh even more.

She jumped forward, catching his lips in searing kiss. His mind barely had the chance of realizing and returning it when she was already backing up again, her lips moving down to his neck, nibbling at it the same way he had done to her before. He hummed in content when he felt her mouth move over his skin, going lower and lower and his erection poked painfully against his loose shorts, the tent pronounced and then somewhat squashed when her lower body moved over it.

Her own breath hitched when she felt the hardness poking against her. Memories of what happened two days ago flooded her mind, the pain she had felt when his arguably big penis had penetrated her suddenly by accident but she also knew that this pain only happened once and the times after would be more pleasurable.

She kept moving down, her mouth trailing hot kisses against his chest and stomach, her fingers finding purchase under the elastic waistband of his shorts. She pulled them down slowly, torturing him with her deliberate procrastination and grinning when he gave her an exasperated look. That look turned into a guffaw when she pulled his shorts down far enough to free his manhood, which snapped upright and hit her in the chin, smacking her teeth against each other and making her squeal in surprise.

"Hey, that wasn't funny." she moped when she saw him laugh.

"Oh, it so was!" he retorted, trying desperately to stop laughing as to not ruin the moment.

Shaking her head, she grabbed his manhood and kissed it, not wasting much time before taking it into her mouth. Remembering how he had reacted before, she repeated what she had done two days before, swirling her tongue around his tip all the while taking him deeper. With his ever louder groans spurring her on, she bobbed her head, taking him deeper and deeper until her lips touched the base of his penis, her mind concentrating on his pleasure to prevent the gag reflex that wanted to come.

"Oh god, El!" Mike groaned loudly, his hips beginning to buck as El released him quickly. "Why did you stop?"

Instead of answering, she kissed her way back up his body until she had reached his mouth again. Deciding on the spot that she wanted more, she moved even more forward, trying to reach her small bag that was resting on the back of his nightstand, right beside the lamp and alarm clock. Mike had no idea what she was trying to do so he did what he thought she wanted when her breasts reached his eye level. He put his left hand on her right breast and took the other into his mouth, gently sucking and nibbling on the nipple, feeling it harden even more that it already was.

El momentarily forgot what she wanted to do, so overwhelmed by the sudden sensation of his lips around her nipple. Her hips undulated on their own, brushing against his stomach and making both of them breath in hard at the feeling. Remembering what she wanted, she scooted forward even more, now sitting on his chest while her left hand rummaged in her bag, searching for the item she was looking for and grabbing it when she found it.

Mike still had no idea what she was doing, his eyes too busy staring at something else. He was well aware of her position on top of him and thinking that she wanted to have a certain thing, he lay back and put his hand on her behind, pulling her further towards him. El just had time to look down at what he was doing when she saw his right arm snake around her leg and pull the front of her thong to the side and his mouth connected to her folds.

This time truly forgetting what she had tried to get, the item in her hand though, she gasped hard and sat back up, her upper body weight now pressing her harder against his mouth. Her hands went to her breasts, caressing herself while his tongue moved inside her, making her squeal every few seconds. Her hips began moving again, slowly forward and back, her need for him seeking the friction of his nose against her clit while he continued licking her.

"Oh Mike!" she moaned. "Mike!"

"Does that feel good?" Mike asked, momentarily stopping what he was doing.

"Are you insane?" she gasped and pushed herself back on his mouth. "You stop when I tell you to stop!"

"Mmh-mh." he hummed, the vibration causing even more pleasure to curse through her.

His arms snaked upwards, pushing away her hands as he sought her breasts, gently massaging them and flicking his fingers over her nipples. She squealed even more, her hips now undulating again, rocking back and forth to get the friction she wanted. She could feel her climax coming, Mike's tongue moving inside her like a man who was dying of thirst trying to lap up condensation inside a tin can.

"Mike!" she gasped and her body tensed. "I'm coming!"

He redoubled his efforts, his tongue moving even faster if that was possible and when El stepped off the cliff, she let her feelings out, screaming her ecstasy into the room, glad that the house was empty. Panting, she lifted herself up and slid down, pressing her lips on his mouth and getting a taste of herself while his hands gently squeezed her butt.

"Was that what you wanted?" he smiled warmly at her.

"Actually, no." she giggled and sat back up, straddling his abdomen again.

"Then what?" he seemed genuinely confused.

"I was getting this." she showed him the condom packet.

"El, are you sure?" he asked. "Given what happened two..."

"Shhh." she stopped him from talking. "Yes, Mike. I'm sure."

His arms suddenly wrapped around her torso and she felt herself being thrown around, finding herself on her back with him sitting in front of her. She giggled at his enthusiasm and lifted her hips as he pulled down the thong, leaving her as naked as he was. She looked down at him, seeing his manhood pointing forward and biting her lower lip, feeling a flutter in her stomach at the thought of feeling it move inside her, this time without it being an accident.

He took the condom out of its packet and rolled it over his penis, the material barely perceptible. He spread her legs and positioned himself but just as she felt her heart rate speed up in anticipation, he stopped again, sitting up once more.

"El, are you really sure?" he asked, still concerned.

"Yes, Mike." she nodded and spread her legs herself this time.

"I just don't want to hurt you again."

"Mike, you took my virginity two days ago, remember?" she smiled at his consideration. "It won't hurt this time."

"Still, if..."

"Mike, if your cock isn't completely inside me in the next twenty seconds, I will break up with you!" El huffed, her statement just in jest but the impatience very real.

It took him only four. After her demand, he lined the tip up with her entrance and pushed, finding little resistance. When he saw only surprise and pleasure on her face, he kept pushing until he was buried fully inside her, the feeling even more amazing than he could have imagined. Her insides were so tight and warm, it made him feel as if he was coming right away but he forced himself to calm down.

"Oh gooooood!" El keened, not having expected it to feel like that as well, a far cry from the painful penetration that happened before.

"El, are you..." Mike started, concern written on his face.

"Mike, move!" she gasped. "That feels so amazing!"

He wrapped his arm around her neck and began thrusting forward, going slowly to avoid himself from climaxing right away. The feeling of being inside her was unbelievable. He wouldn't be able to find words to describe it and doing it justice if his life depended on it. It was warm, almost hot and it was so unbelievably tight, he was still unsure how his penis fit into it, much less being able to mov.

For El, it was a similar feeling. The first penetration, two days ago, had been a painful affair but this time, it had caused highly pleasurable sensations and that was before he began moving. Now, she felt him move inside her, pushing forward, going back and pushing forward again. Every time he got in, explosions of pleasure shot into her brain, as if his tip was touching a button inside her. The sensation of his penis gliding along her inner walls added to it all, resulting in a cacophony of ecstasy assaulting her senses. She felt him put his arms under her knees and push her legs up until they almost rested on her shoulders and suddenly, her mind turned to mush.

"Oh shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!" she screamed. "Mike!"

"El, are..."

"Oh god, Mike, keep doing what you're doing!" she interrupted any question about her well-being he might have had for her. "I'm coming! I'm coming!"

Mike felt proud to have lasted this long for his first time but when he felt her clench, he couldn't hold himself back anymore. The feeling of her orgasm squeezing his manhood was too much to bear and with a loud groan, he unloaded into the condom, the pulsating pleasure resulting from it making him see stars before he collapsed on top of her, utterly spent.

"Mmmmmmmmmh!" El gave a long moan, still basking in the afterglow of the orgasm she had just experienced.

"That was..." Mike tried but his normally eloquent, game campaign creating brain, was utterly blank, finding no words to describe it.

"Amazing? Awesome? Incredible? Mind-blowing? Unbelievable?" El giggled, giving him a few suggestions.

"Aren't you the walking thesaurus." he chuckled, rolling off of her and pulling the condom off of him, tying it up to prevent anything escaping and wrapping it inside a tissue before throwing it away, hoping that it was enough to prevent his mother from seeing it in case she emptied his trash can.

"Mike?" El looked deep into his eyes.

"Yeah?"

"I love you." she said, the phrase now having a whole new meaning for her.

"I love you too." he replied, with the same feeling. "Forever."

"Forever." she sighed in content and kissed him.

He pulled the covers over them and wrapped her arms around her body. They kept kissing languidly, both basking in the afterglow of their first lovemaking and not bothering to put on their pajamas, given that the house was empty.

* * *

**Oi, that turned out a bit longer than I thought ^^ Well, hey ho, hey ho, now it's off to work I go...**

**Review please :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Guest: I haven't forgotten about 001, don't worry ^^ He'll have a pretty big place in the near future of this story ;)**

**Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I write for my own pleasure and that of the readers.**

* * *

El woke up, feeling momentarily disoriented, which was a usual thing for her when she had to get up at what she considered way too early. She looked around with bleary eyes and felt Mike's arms around her naked body, the spots where his hands where feeling like they were burning with a pleasant fire. Her mouth turned into a beaming smile when she thought back to last night, what they had done together.

She was officially a woman now.

And the boy behind her was officially a man.

And what a man he was. She slowly turned in his arms to look at him. His freckles stood out on his face, his hair going everywhere and she gently pushed a curl away from his eyes, his breath still even and his face peaceful. She wondered if he felt different too. For her, their relationship was now on a whole new level and there was nothing in her mind that made her regret that step.

She slowly pushed the covers away from them, marveling at his body. His swimming had really evolved him away from the scrawny but still cute kid she had met in a rainy forest, who had taken her to his house and gave her warm, dry clothes. A boy who had never given up on her, even when he had been devastated from the image of people dragging what they believed then to be Will's dead body from the quarry.

Her gaze moved downwards, resting at the amazing thing between his legs. The thing that had turned her into a woman and brought her to ecstasy a few short hours ago. Her hand crept downwards, one finger gingerly running along it, feeling it twitch under her touch. She felt a slight pang of worry and guilt when her mind conjured the images of him moving inside her, reminding her of the promise she had made to Joyce to keep their intimacy above their clothing.

_'Well, that had gone out the window quickly.'_ she thought with a chuckle.

Not only had they began experimenting with foreplay but the main course had quickly followed and it had been awesome. She knew one thing, she wanted it to happen again. As often as possible. A pang of sadness shot into her heart when she thought about the fact that in two days, she would have to leave again, going back to Chicago and be without him for several weeks until spring break.

"Hey." he croaked, waking up from feeling her touch and seeing the tears in her eyes, quickly waking up fully when he realized that she was crying. "El, what's wrong?"

She didn't answer with words. Her head moved forward and her mouth connected with his, her tongue quickly moving into his mouth. She wasn't even bothered by his morning breath and he gave no indication that hers bothered him as the kiss deepened and Mike tried to make her tears go away. She rolled them around, ending up on top of him and with her hands in his hair and his arms around her back, they languidly kissed the time away.

"El, what's wrong?" he asked again.

"Just thought that in two days, I have to go home." she sniffed, hugging him.

"I know." he sighed and held her tighter. "I wished you wouldn't have to."

"Me too." she agreed.

"I'm a horrible person." he revealed.

"What?" she gasped. "Why?"

"Because I was relieved when you said you were crying because of you had to leave." he revealed.

"Come again?" she looked curiously at him.

"Because at first I thought you were crying because of what happened last night." he added.

"Oh, no!" she chuckled and kissed him again. "I'm not regretting last night one bit."

"Me neither." Mike smiled. "It was the greatest night of my life so far."

"Mine too." she giggled.

"I know this will sound sappy, but it felt like our bodies were made to fit." he said.

"YES!" she sat up and nodded eagerly. "Exactly what I thought."

He couldn't stop his eyes from moving to her chest, her breasts bouncing slightly from the enthusiasm of her nod and he felt his body react the usual way, only this time, no clothing stopped it from growing to its full size and snap against her ass. She gasped down at him and smiled, feeling smug at the fact that it only took a glance at her naked chest to get him aroused like that.

"Somebody's happy to see me." she giggled.

"Somebody's very happy to see you naked." he retorted and ran his hands over her breasts.

"You're only happy to see me when I'm naked?" she moped jokingly.

"I'm happy to see you every time." he grinned. "But little Mike likes you best when you're naked or when you wear things that don't leave much to the imagination."

"Not so little." she winked and scooted forward to grab into the bag next to the lamp for another condom packet.

"How many of those do you have?" he asked, a bit embarrassed that he didn't have any himself, though he hadn't expected to have sex with her yet during her visit.

"Um..." she hesitated, pushing herself forward even more to count them. "Eight packets left."

"Eight?" he gasped, very aware how close her center was to his mouth, filling his nostrils with the smell of her arousal.

"I know." she sighed, moving her body back. "I should have brought more."

"Honey, as much as it swells my ego that you want to have sex with me again, I don't think we can do it eight more times in the next two days." her chuckled.

"Well, we can try." she giggled and used her teeth to open the packet, taking out the clear latex item.

She scooted backwards even more, sitting down on his thighs and grabbing his manhood. After giving it a few extra strokes, she put the condom on the tip and rolled it down, her stomach fluttering in anticipation of going to feel him inside her again. She lifted her body up moved forward again, grabbing between her legs to line him up before sinking down slowly, feeling him penetrate her as she put weight on it.

"Oh shit!" she cursed when she was down, feeling herself get stretched.

"Wow!" Mike groaned. "You're so tight!"

"Mmmh-mh." she nodded in agreement and put her hands on his chest before she slowly began to move up and down.

Mike could scarcely believe that it was happening again. After El had fallen asleep, he had lain awake for a while, simply listening to his girlfriend breathing evenly and wondering where they would go from here. He knew one thing, he wanted it to happen again but he felt that asking her right away might scare her away.

And now she was moving on top of him, her face contorted in pleasure as she rode him. He felt as if he was going to explode and when she increased her speed, he thought that his climax was unavoidable but somehow, he managed to keep going, determined to give her the pleasure she demanded and the orgasm she deserved.

She moved with the grace of a ballet dancer and the experience of someone who had never done it before without clothes. Her movements were still beautiful to behold, the way her hips moved back and forth on him before she switched it up and hopped her body up and down. The second part was quickly becoming his most favorite, since it made her breasts bounce as well, something he was sure he'd never get tired of seeing.

"Oh El!" Mike groaned, his hands on her breasts again to caress her nipples.

"Mike!" she moaned. "You feel so good!"

Mike could believe this even less. He felt good for her? She felt more than amazing for him. He still couldn't find words to describe the feeling he was getting from being inside her, to feel the squeeze of her inner muscles against his manhood, the way her folds massaged him when ever slid in or out. Somehow, he managed to keep himself from coming while El continued to ride him but then she switched her position once more, placing her feet left and right to his abdomen and really beginning to bounce.

"SHIT!" Mike groaned loudly, his eyes almost rolling back into his skull.

"Ho... ly crap, that feels in... cre... di... ble." El stammered, every syllable coming out during a bounce.

Mike felt both in heaven and hell. In heaven because the feeling of her moving and the image of her doing it was one more thing that would be seared forever into his memory. In hell, because the feeling was making it impossible for him to prolong it, his climax coming closer in gigantic steps. He was trying his utmost to keep himself from coming but El was relentless, chasing her own climax like a bloodhound on the trail.

"Mike!" she keened. "I'm coming!"

Finally released from his self-imposed obligation to get her to a climax, he grabbed her around the back and pulled her down to him. He buried his head against her shoulder and began thrusting upwards, the sound of their skin slapping together echoing through his room. El screamed into his ear as she climaxed, finally understanding what Max had meant with a good scream and Mike groaned loudly when he followed her over the edge, keeping up his thrusts until he finished unloading before he practically collapsed in on himself, the woman of his dreams equally spent on his chest, both of them breathing hard.

"We have to do that every morning." El moaned and closed her eyes.

"Gladly." Mike chuckled but then both became morose when the realization of their upcoming separation hit them again. "What time is it?"

"A little after eight." she told him, her eyes looking at his alarm clock.

"We should get up." he sighed. "I need to be at the pool at nine."

"I know." she nodded but made no move.

"I love you." he said.

"I know." she replied, keeping her face straight.

"You... that..." he stuttered, finding her quoting Star Wars beyond sexy.

"Does that make you want to have sex again?" she giggled.

"So much." he confirmed. "But I can't right now."

"Yeah." she sighed and got up. "Stupid men and their stupid penises."

"Now they're stupid?" he grinned.

"Why can't you work again right away?" she asked, poking his manhood as she did so.

"Hey, careful." he laughed while he got up. "Wanna shower together?"

"This could be such a great shower if you were able to have sex right now." she moped as she led the way into the bathroom.

"God, you're sexy." he breathed as he watched her naked behind, El turning her head to see him looking and sashaying her naked hips to egg him on.

They showered together, both washing each other's backs and making out way too much. Ten minutes after eight-thirty, both ran out of the house and jumped on their bikes, riding as fast as they legs could manage to the pool and stopping at the place one minute before opening time, both panting hard.

"Remind me... why I... had... to... go as fast... as you?" El managed to ask between gasps for breath.

"Because... you love me?" he panted as well, holding himself up on his bike handles.

"Yeah, alright." she accepted that reason and followed him to the entrance where Jennifer was unlocking the door and letting the first customers in.

"Almost too late." Jennifer grinned.

"Almost." Mike nodded and managed to get his breathing under control.

"Hey Dustin." El greeted their friend who was coming round the corner. "What are you doing here?"

"Can't I go swimming?" Dustin asked.

"Right." Mike nodded and winked at Jennifer.

El followed Mike to the changing booths, taking the one next to his and changing into her bikini again. Since Mike had donned his lifeguard trunks at home, he was out of the booths long before her and inside the pool area when she got in there as well. This time, there were a lot less people than yesterday and she doubted she would see Troy again today, his embarrassment probably keeping him away from everywhere for a while.

"And don't make anyone crap his pants today." he muttered into her ear before kissing her cheeks.

"As long as they don't accept my rejection when they hit on me, they're safe." she giggled and pulled his head in to give him a deep kiss.

Mike climbed onto his high seat and leaned back, watching El once again as she swam more laps, using the relative emptiness of the pool to get her exercise. He couldn't pry his gaze away from her butt, her cheeks partially visible when the bottoms had ridden up and their movements was almost hypnotic and filled his mind with the memory of that perfectly shaped behind slamming down on his groin.

He still couldn't believe that their relationship had turned carnal. After Nancy's reaction to the possibility of it, he had resigned himself to the fact that they would have to wait at least another year but then, El had had a different idea and he was forever grateful that she had. Watching her, he was again hit by the sadness of her leaving in two days. And it would take several weeks until they would get to see each other again.

"So, Dustin, how's it going with Jennifer?" El asked after her swim, sitting down next to her friend.

"Given that we got together yesterday, I'd say pretty good." Dustin smirked at her. "But I did talk to Suzie about her."

"And what did she say?"

"Well, she was understandably upset." Dustin sighed. "But I explained it to her the same way you did to me why our relationship would go nowhere and she accepted it."

"Are you going to talk to her again?" El wanted to know.

"Yeah, we agreed to keep up our weekly talking dates, just to keep up to date." Dustin nodded. "Jennifer knows and since the dates are during the week anyway, they should never interfere with any dates we may wanna go on."

"Dustin, never let her go." El chuckled.

"El, I don't know for sure if she's the one." Dustin sighed. "It's not like you and Mike, we could see from the beginning that you two would end up together."

"If you start the relationship like that, it truly will not work." El said.

"I'm fifteen, how would I know if it's meant to be forever?" Dustin wondered.

"Just imagine yourself in a few years." El advised. "Imagine having a wife and kids running around. And if you can imagine that wife to be Jennifer, then you can be pretty sure."

"Are you imagining yourself being married to and having kids with Mike?" Dustin looked at her.

"Yes and yes." El nodded and sneaked a look at her boyfriend who was looking around for trouble and sneaking a look at her once in a while too. "We'll have beautiful kids someday."

"By the way, Max is totally jealous of you and Mike and your relationship." Dustin whispered conspiratorially to her.

"Why?"

"Because you and Mike have this special thing going and I think she wants the same with Lucas but I guess it's not the same." Dustin told her, making El feel strangely smug.

She leaned back and closed her eyes, waiting for Mike's shift to end.

* * *

"Hey there, little one." El greeted the little blond girl who bounded into the house after waving to her friend in the car.

"El!" Holly wrapped her little arms around El's waist.

"You'd think she hasn't seen you in months." Mike chuckled. "Holly, you're going to hug me too?"

"No." Holly shook her head. "I like her more. And you didn't help me when she threw snowballs at me."

"Six years old and already lippy." Mike shook his head and took a sip of his juice.

"El, did you ride Mike again?" Holly asked innocently, making El blush and Mike choke on his juice.

"Well, yes, little one, I did." El smirked at Mike who tried to get his coughing under control.

"Did you have fun?"

"Oh, the best fun." El nodded. "So much in fact, that I really want to do it again."

"You can do it right now!" Holly hopped on her feet eagerly. "I'll spur you on."

"Lord, help me." Mike groaned.

"Mike, come on, let El ride you." Holly beamed.

"I don't think that's a good idea right now." Mike stammered, staying behind the table to hide the bulge in his pants, the images of a bouncing El swirling in his mind.

"You're no fun!" Holly moped.

"Come on, little one, if you unpack your bag now and change out of your clothes, you can have a cookie." El said.

"Yay!" Holly whooped and bounded up the stairs, her bag slung over her back.

"Wow, you're really good with her." Mike complimented her as she got the cookie jar.

"Mike, what do we do about food?" El asked. "I mean, we can live off of fries for lunch and pizza in the evening but Holly shouldn't."

"Have you met my mother?" Mike laughed and opened the fridge, revealing row upon row of tupperware boxes filled with various items of food.

"Wow." El gasped in amazement. "What's in those?"

"Everything we need to have lunch or dinner." Mike replied. "We only have to take it out, put what we want into another box and heat it in the microwave. And if we want something like soup, we can make one with packet soup."

"You know, when we live together in the future, can your mom live with us?" El giggled.

"NO!" he gasped in shock.

"Relax, I was kidding." she grinned and gave him a kiss on his still gaping mouth.

"You're evil!"

"You like it." she gently bit his chin and slapped his ass right before Holly came bounding down the stairs.

"I changed!" Holly said proudly.

"Did you put your clothes into the hamper?" El asked.

"Yes, I did." Holly nodded.

"Then here." El smiled and held out the cookie jar so Holly could take one.

"Thank you El." Holly giggled and bit into the cookie.

The three spent an hour playing Sorry!, a game that Holly surprisingly won, somehow managing to roll the correct numbers on the dice and getting the right directions whenever she needed them. Afterwards, Mike let himself get convinced by El to give Holly a few more piggyback rides in the backyard, her sweetie bounding through the snow on his long legs.

Her love for that man soared to new highs, if that was possible, watching him play with his sister. Another painful stab in the stomach followed, the knowledge of being apart again soon hitting her harder the closer they got to that day. Since New Years Eve fell on a Saturday this year, she had to leave on the 1st to get to school on the 2nd again, something that filled her with sadness and resignation.

She had no idea as to how she was supposed to survive until spring break without him. Now that she knew how great sex with him was, she never wanted to leave. She wanted to stay and simply do it every night, wanted to experience that level of their relationship over and over. While she could alleviate the worst urges by herself, it simply wouldn't be the same.

"Hello?" she said into speaker after picking up the phone upon hearing it ring.

"El, is that you?" a familiar voice asked.

"Max!" El gasped. "Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me." Max confirmed. "Just got back."

"How was California?" El asked.

"Nice and warm." Max hummed. "The only thing missing was Lucas."

"Is he back too already?"

"No, I think they're arriving later tonight." Max told her.

"Wanna come over to talk?" El suggested.

"Sure, give me twenty minutes." Max agreed and hung up.

El told Mike and Holly about Max's upcoming arrival and returned to the house to prepare a few snacks and drinks for them. Mike decided to keep playing with Holly and when Max arrived, he greeted her with a wave before Max came inside, hugging El hard and complimenting her on her hair.

"So, how did you spent Christmas?" Max asked.

"Oh, you know." El shrugged. "Learned swimming with Mike, gave gifts to each other, got Dustin a girlfriend."

"What did you get..." Max started but then looked at El with wide eyes. "Wait, Dustin? Girlfriend?"

"Yeah." El giggled.

"Spill, girl, spill!" Max poked her arm and sat down on the living room couch.

"It was on the day before Christmas eve, when you guys were... uh... doing homework." El began, air-quoting the last word. "Mike, me and Dustin went to radio shack so Dustin could pick up some thing he had ordered. The bitch squad was there too and we noticed Jennifer Hayes smiling at Dustin and waving at him."

"Wait, Jennifer Hayes is Dustin's girlfriend now?" Max interrupted.

"Yes, when the squad left the store, Mike went after them and talked to Jennifer about Dustin. Then he came back in and told Dustin that they had a date." El continued. "Dustin of course brought up Suzie and me and Mike somewhat blew a gasket at him for that and he relented. We had the date yesterday."

"That's so cool." Max was genuinely happy for him. "And what about you and Mike? Everything's still fine?"

"More than fine." El smiled dreamily.

"What's that smile?" Max smirked and then her eyes went wide. "Wait, did you guys..."

"By the way." El interrupted her this time and held out her index fingers a certain distance away from each other.

"No way!" Max gasped. "It's longer than Lucas's!"

"And." El giggled and made a circle with her thumbs and index fingers to indicate his girth.

"Jesus!" Max cursed. "Something to look forward for you when the day comes. Though I worry for your well-being."

"Yeah, when it comes." El winked at her.

"You didn't!" Max gasped and looked for deceit in her friend's face. "Oh, you did!"

"Yeah, we did!" El nodded.

"God, how was it?"

"Well, the defloration was very painful and accidental." El sighed.

"Wait, accidental?" Max interrupted.

"Yeah, we were fooling around and got a little too... moving and suddenly he was inside me." El winced at the memory. "Buried completely."

"That must have hurt." Max winced too.

"Very." El nodded. "But he was more distraught over it than me."

"Seriously though, you did it for real then?"

"After our date." El nodded. "It was amazing! I mean, it was oh-my-god-I-never-want-it-to-end amazing."

"I'm so jealous right now." Max huffed. "Did you two do... other stuff as well?"

"We actually did that on Christmas day, or rather, the evening." El nodded. "I wanted him to... uh... kiss me down there, I used that favor he owed me after I tickled him."

"And I guess he did."

"Max, you should have seen it." El said before realizing what she actually said. "No wait, you shouldn't."

"I get it." Max laughed. "Tell me, though."

"He kissed me there and then drew his head back again." she began. "At first I thought he was disgusted by it and was about to run into the bathroom to wash his lips but he simply grabbed me, pushed me down and really put his mouth on it."

"I sometimes wish I could get Lucas to do that with me." Max sighed.

"He doesn't?" El wondered. "I would have thought you two were further than we were, I mean you measured his penis already."

"Only because I jacked him off once." she shrugged.

"Have you been naked in front of him?" El wanted to know.

"Um... no, not yet. Only underwear." she admitted.

"If you want him to go down there, you may wanna get naked." El winked at her.

"Seriously, when did you become the brash girl in this party?" Max huffed as Mike and Holly came in.

"Hi, Maxine." Holly waved at her.

"It's Max." Max ground her teeth, not barking at the little girl due to her age.

"So, Max, how was California?" Mike asked.

"Warm, dry and fun." Max stood up to give Mike a hug. "Jesus, did you grow again last week?"

"It's the shoes." Mike pointed to his slippers, which had a pretty thick sole.

"He's six-two already." El pointed out. "Kissing him becomes harder by the day."

"Where are your parents?" Max wondered, looking around.

"They're on a romantic getaway." Mike told her. "We've been babysitting Holly during that time."

"That's nice." Max smiled and before she could say more, the phone rang in the house.

"Hello?" Mike spoke into the speaker. "Oh, hey buddy, when did you get in?... yeah... uh hu... yeah, she's here... sure, come on over."

"Was that Lucas?" Max asked, perking up.

"Yep, he's on his way." Mike smiled.

While Mike prepared dinner for him, El and Holly, Max began pacing through the living room, looking out of the window at least once per minute. El could only smile at her behavior, wondering if she was just missing him or if there was something else that made her this impatient, something to do with the fact that El and Mike had overtaken her in terms of relationship progress.

Fifteen minutes later, their friend parked his bicycle against the garage but before he could knock on the door, Max ripped it open and jumped into his arms, kissing him hard. Lucas almost collapsed backwards, her sudden jump making him stumble backwards until his foot hit snow.

"Yeah, so, hi." Lucas managed to say after Max released him.

"I missed you, stalker." Max said as she hugged him.

"I missed you too, zoomer." Lucas hugged her back. "Did I miss something?"

"Yeah." Max nodded and whispered something into his ear, Lucas' eyes going wide.

"NO WAY!" Lucas shouted and looked at Mike and El who were standing in the doorway.

"What?" Mike looked confused at him.

"You guys had sex?!" Lucas shouted.

"Shhhh!" Mike waved at him panicky. "Keep your voice down, my sister's in there."

"Sorry." Lucas was contrite. "You had sex?!" he added in a whisper-scream.

"Yes, we did." El nodded.

"When? How?"

"Yesterday." Mike told him. "And I think you know how it works."

"Yeah, yeah." Lucas moped. "Hey Max, wanna..."

"Yes." Max nodded. "We need to go to your place though, my dad is home."

"Okay, I just hope my sister doesn't interrupt us too much." Lucas sighed.

"Yeah, we need to have an important talk." Max said and dragged him away to his bike.

"Bye guys." Mike and El waved at them, El grinning broadly.

"She's going to try to make him lick her." El giggled after the two were out of earshot.

"What?" he gasped, looking around to see if Holly was nearby.

"Yeah, I told her about us." she grinned and kissed him.

"Why would you do that?" he still gaped.

"Hey, girls talk about this." she shrugged. "Come on, lets have dinner."

"Okay, lets." he sighed and walked into the kitchen to place their heated food on the table while El got Holly ready.

* * *

**Another filler chapter. I'm thinking about starting a second story, about Mike and El in their twenties and meeting for the first time. Would anyone be interested, given my modest writing skills? I don't doubt there are a lot of those kinds of stories already on the net.**

**Review please :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**I need a new hard drive soon -.- Neighbor above me started his washing machine and went to work. Of course washing machine broke, flooding his apartment and the water came through my ceiling, a lot of it dripping through the electrical shaft into my junction box. Computers really don't like it when the circuit breaker gets thrown :(**

**Still, enjoy this chapter:)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I write for my own pleasure and that of the readers.**

* * *

"Holly, do you promise to be good and listen to Misses Gunderson?" El asked, pushing the winter hat on Holly's head.

"Yes, El." Holly nodded eagerly.

"Don't worry, you two, me and Gabriella will watch the kids." Misses Gunderson told them.

"Hey Mike!" the aforementioned girl greeted him.

"Hi Gabriella." Mike waved back. "El, this is Gabriella from my class, Gabriella, this is my girlfriend El."

"Nice to meet you." Gabriella smiled and shook El's hand.

"Okay Holly, here's the sled." Mike said, putting the sled he had been carrying on the ground and handing his sister the rope. "Always keep your hands on the handles when you go down the hill, right?"

"Yes, Mike." Holly nodded.

"We'll be back around noon, alright?" El asked the little blond. "Then we can have a nice lunch and you do your nap."

"But I don't wanna nap." Holly complained.

"Holly, do you want to celebrate New Years with us?" Mike asked sternly.

"Yes, of course." Holly nodded.

"Then you need to get some sleep before, otherwise you won't make it to midnight." he told her.

"Okay, Mike." Holly accepted.

"Hey Mike, I heard you started swimming, is that true?" Gabriella asked.

"Yep." he nodded. "Where do you think we're going now?"

"Why swimming and not something else?"

"Because I'm just too sexy for a sport with clothing." Mike grinned, wrapping his arm around El's waist who almost doubled over with laughter at his joke as Gabriella looked at him shocked.

"Jesus, where has the shy boy gone I've known since first grade?" Gabriella gasped as Mike began laughing too at her expression.

"He got a stunning girlfriend and got some self-esteem." Mike smiled lovingly at El. "Alright, we're off."

"Holly, behave." El lifted her finger. "If we hear of any misbehavior, you won't be allowed to celebrate with us at midnight, clear?"

"Yes, El, I'll be good." Holly nodded and hugged El before rushing off, pulling the sled up the slope.

"When are the others coming over?" El asked him as they rode their bicycles to the pool.

"At six." Mike told her. "Plenty of time to eat, drink and be merry before we go out at eleven."

"I never celebrated New Years." El said. "What happens there?"

"Usually, there's fireworks at midnight." Mike explained. "This year, we'll go to town's square to watch what they planned for this year. Before that, we're going to eat and have fun."

"Is that why you got all that meat?" El asked.

"Yeah, we decided to do a New Years barbecue this year." Mike nodded. "The others bring some stuff too."

"Can't wait." El smiled but became sad again right after.

The closer it got to midnight, the closer it was to her leaving for Chicago again. El fought back tears at the thought of leaving him for three months, the only way of being with him her Super Comm. Not feeling his touch, his lips on hers and now, since she knew, their bodies connected in that ultimate show of their love.

Mike harbored the same feelings as her, wondering how he it would be possible for him to survive without seeing her every day. During the last two weeks, he had become accustomed to waking up in the morning and seeing her, kissing her and touching her. Not having that was something he couldn't even contemplate, yet he also knew that there was nothing he could do to change that.

Their moods somewhat morose, Mike locked their bikes together and opened the door the pool, both walking straight to the changing booths. This time, both had changed at home, a process that had led to a heavy make out and touching session that couldn't go any further due to the presence of Holly in the house.

Both came out of the booths, leaving their clothes in there since nobody else would be here this day and without words, both walked into each others arms to kiss. Mike's hands moved to her behind, squeezing it gently and lifting her up, El wrapping her legs around his waist. He walked them to a shower stall, opening the faucet and letting the spray of warm water flow over them while they kept their lips together.

Separating with some resignation, El jumped into the pool directly from the leftmost starting block, Mike taking the lane right next to her. For the next hour, both swam lap after lap, Mike of course faster than El but she prided herself of making it the entire sixty minutes. After the hour, El climbed back out and panted heavily, feeling her muscles burn from the exertion but she had to admit that it actually made her feel good and she knew enough from her biology classes that regular exertions like that helped increase her stamina. If she wanted to join the track and field team in her high school, she'll need that stamina.

"Mike?" she looked at the man she loved as he exited the pool, also breathing hard but not looking as exerted as she felt.

"Yeah?" he looked at his angel.

"Can you show me the butterfly stroke again?" she asked. "I saw a video of a competition and they were doing it. It looked amazing."

"Sure." he nodded and got into the shallower pool. "To do this, you need to move your arms symmetrically and do a dolphin kick."

"What's a dolphin kick?"

"It's when both your legs kick out, similar to what you do when you do freestyle but not alternating them." he explained. "Watch."

Mike got moving forward and began to show the dolphin style, rotating his arms and kicking his legs the way he had showed her. El thought it looked very aesthetically but she noticed that how slow he got in the recovery phase before shooting forward when his arms rotated through the water again.

She got into the pool herself and tried to duplicate what he was doing, with little success. The only time she actually managed to propel herself forward was when she used the floor of the pool to kick herself forward. Her arm movements worked like Mike's but without the legs, the swim technique wasn't working.

"Okay, I don't get it." she moped. "I can't for the live of me do the dolphin kick in a way that gets me forward."

"You could learn the kick using freestyle swimming." he suggested. "Simply swim the crawl and instead of alternating your legs, both both at the same time."

"Interesting." she nodded when she saw his demonstration.

Watching his broad back move as he showed her how to do it, she was once again overcome with the sadness of their upcoming separation. She began swimming backwards towards the pool, her eyes on him and when he finished the crawl, he turned and saw her. Her eyes told him more than words could ever and he slowly followed her, seeing her leaning against the tiles inside the pool.

He didn't stop until he had reached her, her arms wrapping around his neck while his engulfed her waist, their bodies crashing together as their lips met. She kissed him hungrily, trying to convey all the emotions she felt in that moment. Their tongues began dancing, El moaning into his mouth when his hands found her butt again and began squeezing it before he turned them around so he could sit on the underwater bench.

"Mike." she breathed and showed him the condom packet.

"Uh..." he looked surprised at the item in her hand, his brain currently unable to work properly since the majority of his blood was somewhere else. "Where did you get that from?"

"Had it in my bottoms." she giggled and ground her hips on his abdomen.

"You sure?" he asked as he took it from her, refraining from opening it right away.

"Mike, I need you." she almost begged. "I need to feel you."

"Okay." he nodded relieved and pushed her away a bit so he could lift himself out of water.

He pulled down his trunks, El doing the same with her bottoms, and ripped open the packet with his teeth, unrolling the condom over his erect manhood. El climbed up on him, grabbing it and guiding it to her center before she lowered herself, feeling the still new but also familiar stretching that made her feel complete.

El commented the action with a loud groan, already shaking from the anticipation of feeling him move inside her again. Mike grabbed around the waist and lowered them into the water again where El began to bounce gently, the water adding another level of lubrication. El wrapped her arms around his neck again, using his neck and the bench he sat on as leverage to pound herself on him, wanting to feel him as deep as possible.

Mike pulled her bikini top up, revealing her breasts and quickly took one into his mouth, sucking and nibbling on the nipple while caressing the other and keeping his other hand on her thigh to help her with the bounces. Every time she went down, she groaned loudly into his ear and gave out the occasional yelp, the dome shape of the igloo causing the echo to be louder than it should be.

El slammed down once more and stayed there, feeling his tip pushing against that particularly sensitive spot inside her. She began gyrating her hips and squealed, the feeling overwhelming in its intensity and it didn't take her long to become unraveled. She screamed into his ear, shouting out her pleasure as her body shook and Mike could do nothing but hold her while she rode it out.

When she had calmed down again, Mike took over. He stood up and put both hands on her butt, holding her tight as he slammed into her again. El continued yelling, nobody there to hear and when she shouted into his ear that she was on the verge again, Mike pummeled into her with abandon until he felt her clench again, taking it as a cue for him to let go himself and he climaxed shortly after her.

"Oh shit!" El gasped for breath as she tried to keep him inside her a bit longer.

"Oh shit indeed." Mike chuckled. "Seriously, where did you have that condom?"

"I told you, I had it in my bottoms in the front." she laughed.

"Ingenious." he grinned. "So you had planned before to have sex in the pool?"

"Yep." she winked, popping the p. "I want to make some more memories to hold me over when we're apart."

"Yeah." he sighed, holding her tight but then had to pull out of her. "Wait, let me just take this off."

He lifted himself out of the water again and pulled the condom off of him, tying the end together again to avoid spillage into the pool. He placed it on the tiles out of the water, making a mental note to collect and dispose of it in a way that Martin wouldn't find it. He pulled his shorts back on and wrapped his arms around El again, enjoying the feel of her body against his.

"Where's my bottoms?" she asked, looking around.

"Um..." he hesitated, looking as well.

"Don't tell me stuff gets sucked into a pipe somewhere here?" she gasped as he exited the pool to get a higher vantage.

"There they are!" he pointed to the other end of the pool and jumped in to retrieve them and bring them to her.

"How did they get over there?" she wondered as she put them back on. "It's not like there's a current here."

"It's usually a good idea not to think too much about that." he chuckled. "Wanna go into the Jacuzzi?"

"Yeah, never been in there." El nodded, following Mike to the smaller twenty feet further against the wall and watching him activate it.

"Don't be surprised by the bubbles." he cautioned her a few minutes later as he got in and waved for her to follow.

El stepped into the bubbling liquid, expecting it to be scalding but was pleasantly surprised by the comfortable warmth and the feeling of the water jets against her skin. She leaned into his chest, his arms engulfing her again and holding her tight. She leaned a bit to the side and turned her head to kiss him, deciding that if that's the last time for a while that they could be in the water together, there's nothing else she would rather do.

She had no idea how long they had been kissing but at some point, Mike pushed her away, albeit with visible reluctance. He pointed to the large clock on the wall and she nodded, seeing the time almost at noon, knowing that Holly would be waiting for them. She followed him out of the water, shivering in the sudden colder temperature and waited for him to deactivate the jets again.

As they began walking, she was surprised when he suddenly took a turn into the wrong direction but her unspoken questions was answered when she saw him pick up the condom that had still been on the floor. He took it with them, bringing it to the changing booth were his clothes were and putting into a small plastic bag to throw it away somewhere else before grabbing his shower gel and towels.

El did the same and watched him walk into the boys' shower where he took off his shorts. Licking her lips, she made a quick decision and took another item, discarding her bikini right there and following him into the shower. She watched his backside for a minute, marveling at his lean physique before stepping into the stall directly, surprising him.

"El!" he gasped in shock which was quickly replaced by lust when he saw her naked body.

"Mike." she breathed and looked into his eyes.

"Again?" he smiled and she nodded.

El dropped to her knees and grabbed his manhood, wasting not time in taking it into her mouth. Mike groaned loudly and as El felt him grow, she became hungry for more. Mike could barely believe what he was seeing when El bobbed her head vigorously forward and back, taking him in completely before almost releasing him and repeat. His hands went to her head, moving her head with her, feeling as if someone was sucking his ability to think clearly out of him.

After an, for him, indiscernible amount of time, she released him with a plop and produced a condom packet, ripping it open and taking the condom between her teeth before she rolled it onto his manhood with her mouth, For Mike, this was probably the sexiest way ever to get a condom on him and he watched as she stood up, turning around and pressing herself against the wall, looking back at him with almost black eyes.

"Please Mike, make me feel good again." she pleaded.

Mike nodded and stood right behind her, bending his knees so he could line himself up. He pushed in gently but firmly, soon buried completely inside and she screamed in pleasure, the upward angle from behind feeling even better than when she was on top. When Mike stood still to let her get used to him again, El began pushing backwards, demanding the friction that she needed.

Mike couldn't stop himself when he saw that. He grabbed around her waist and began thrusting forward hard, pummeling into her with wild abandon, the sounds of their skin slapping together mixed with their moans echoing from the tiles. Mike's right arm went around her chest, caressing her left breast while his other found its way to her clit and he began to rub it.

The double sensation had El squirming and screaming, the welcome ecstasy of a climax crashing through her body. Mike continued remorselessly, his thrusts even increasing in speed as he chased his own climax now and it may have been desensitization from their earlier lovemaking or the result of his increased stamina but before he got to his own climax, El got two more, each one stronger than the first.

When the pleasure pulses in Mike's brain had subsided, he pulled out of her and felt his legs go weak. El felt worse and she collapsed to the floor, a worried Mike looking down at her but he became confused when she began laughing.

"That was the best one yet!" she shouted in exultation, the image of her naked on the floor with the water from the shower hitting her body something strange for him to behold.

"El, can I ask you something?" he chuckled, helping her back up so they could take a real shower.

"Yes?" she looked at him lovingly.

"How many condoms did you pack?"

"I have two more in my bag." she giggled. "Just wanted to make sure we were supplied if another urge overcame us before this one."

"And how many do you have left total?" he wanted to know.

"Four." she sighed and leaned against him. "Though I think we won't be able to use them all until tomorrow, with Holly in the house and later our friends, of course."

"Too bad." he chuckled and held her tight. "I wished we didn't have to pick up Holly now."

"Me too." she nodded and simply enjoyed his hands on her body. "But I think our little girl needs food and she'll become worried if we're late."

As they showered, Mike couldn't help but smile at the way she had called El their little girl. El of course knew that Holly wasn't their child but for the day they had been babysitting her, El had felt like a young mother, imagining herself to be married to the man she loved and having a beautiful daughter with him. She decided that no matter what life threw at them in the future, the man next to her would become her husband and the father of her children.

And woe to anyone who may take an interest in him.

* * *

"Welcome." El greeted Lucas and Max, the redhead hugging her as they walked in and Lucas giving her a nod due to both of his hands carrying stuff.

"Let me take that." Mike chuckled and took the two bowls from him.

"Thanks, man." Lucas nodded and walked into the living room. "Dustin!"

"Lucas, my man!" Dustin greeted him with a chest bump and then hugged Max. "How were your Christmas vacations?"

"Warm and fun." Max smiled.

"Cold and fun but lonely." Lucas nodded, smiling at his girlfriend.

"Dustin, what was your contribution to this party?" Max asked, referring to the two bowls of potato and pasta salad she and Lucas had brought.

"I brought a bowl each of tomato-, carrot-, cucumber- and rice salad, all courtesy of my mom." Dustin smiled. "And a plethora of snacks."

"Good." Lucas nodded.

"And we have the meat and the buns." El giggled and showed them a huge plastic container full of barbecue steaks and burger patties.

"Wow, I can't wait." Dustin's mouth salivated.

"Maxine!" a little blond bundle of energy bounded down the stairs.

"I swear she's doing it on purpose." Max grumbled and almost stumbled when Holly ran into her.

"Don't I get a hug?" Lucas asked with mock indignation.

"No, boys have cooties." Holly shook her head.

"Don't argue with her, she won't even hug me." Mike laughed and took the container with the meat from El.

Now that everyone was there, the group sat down except Mike, who threw a coat over himself and headed out to the barbecue to throw the meat on it. El joined him, wanting to be near him all the time and after a minute, their friends and Holly came out too, Holly making Lucas give her piggyback rides, the poor guy panting as Holly demanded more and more rounds around the yard through the snow.

Max could only smirk at her boyfriend's current situation and Dustin laughed out loud until Lucas stopped right in front of him and told Holly that Dustin would be glad to take over. Dustin wailed in exasperation but Holly wouldn't be denied, her feet never touching the ground as she climbed from Lucas' back to Dustin's, who then began running around as well. When Lucas joined Mike at the barbecue, Max took the opportunity to take El to the side.

"I need some advice." Max admitted when they were out of earshot of the others.

"About?" El asked.

"Last night, I made Lucas... you know, lick me." Max revealed.

"Oh, how?"

"I sat on his face." Max even blushed. "It's when..."

"I know what it is, I did it too with Mike." El smiled at the memory.

"Didn't he want to and you took what you wanted?"

"No, he pulled me on it when I sat on his chest to reach my bag with the condoms." she giggled. "Why? Didn't Lucas want to?"

"Well, that's just it." Max sighed. "I get the feeling that he liked it because it made me feel good but afterwards, he had a kinda disgusted expression."

"Did you reciprocate?"

"Yes, I blew him afterwards." Max nodded. "That tasted vile when he came."

"Huh, can I tell Mike so he carefully gets Lucas to tell him?" El asked.

"I don't know." Max hesitated.

"Don't worry, we'll be careful." El said and took a pen and a piece of paper, writing something on it and going back to the house before coming back and mentioning for Mike to go in.

Mike nodded to her, understanding what she asked and excused himself from Lucas, who kept flipping the burgers and steaks while Mike was, as Lucas surmised, in the bathroom. Mike wasn't in the bathroom to use it but to read the note El had written him and as he came back out, he knew what to do.

"So, Lucas." Mike grinned, showing Lucas that something embarrassing was going to follow. "Did you and Max do something after you hurried away yesterday?"

"Well..." Lucas hesitated. "I don't know how much I can tell you."

"Given that Max has told you about me and El, it's only fair, don't you think?" Mike raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't worry, I won't laugh at you."

"Alright." Lucas nodded. "Max wanted me to... you know... with my tongue, down there."

"Lick her?" Mike filled in the blanks. "So what's the problem? I did it with El."

"I know, Max told me, that's why she wanted to as well." Lucas nodded.

"So, what's the problem?"

"I don't know." Lucas sighed. "It tasted weird."

"Salty and tangy?" Mike looked at him, Lucas nodding. "It's their arousal. Just think of it like this. She's feeling great when you do this, she even gets to an orgasm if you do it well and long enough. The more you taste her, the better you make her feel."

"I can see that." Lucas accepted. "But afterwards..."

"What?"

"It was a bit disgusting, you know?" Lucas sighed. "Even after Max had gone, I had to pull the occasional pubic hair out of my mouth which was hard because it was flat against my gums."

"So, what if she had no hair?" Mike asked.

"That would be a lot nicer, I guess." Lucas shrugged. "I mean, I did enjoy pleasuring her, especially since she did the same for me then. But I can't simply ask her to shave down there."

"She's here!" Dustin yelled when the doorbell rang and ran around the house, a shrieking Holly still on his back.

"Who's here?" Lucas asked and walked after him, giving Mike time to wave El over.

"I talked to Lucas." Mike said in a low voice.

"And?"

"He enjoyed giving her pleasure but he didn't like that he had to pick pubic hairs out of his mouth afterwards." Mike explained.

"Thanks, my love." she giggled and gave him a deep kiss. "Did he tell you that she sat on his face?"

"No, he did not." he chuckled. "Well, we did that too already."

"Yeah, I get the feeling Max is a little peeved that we essentially surpassed them in every aspect of our relationships." El winked at him. "By the way."

"Yeah?" Mike looked down at her while taking a sip of juice.

"Tonight, I wanna do the facesit again." El whispered, causing Mike to choke on his juice again. "Somehow, everyone seems to choke when I talk."

"Gee, I wonder why." Mike chuckled.

"Guys, she's here." Dustin said as he returned to the backyard, Holly still on his back and Jennifer following.

"Hey, Jennifer." Mike waved at her.

"Honey, these are Max and Lucas, my friends." Dustin introduced. "You know Mike and El. And that carry-on on my back is Mike's sister Holly."

"I like your hair too." Holly giggled and jumped down from Dustin's back to give Jennifer a hug, Dustin breathing a sigh of relief at the lesser weight. "Did you ride Dustin too already?"

"Wh... what?" Jennifer gasped at the little girl.

"El rode Mike too." Holly smiled broadly and Jennifer could only gape at the couple.

"Piggyback rides." Mike laughed. "Holly made me carry El around."

"Oh." Jennifer breathed a sigh of relief, though she noticed the way Mike and El were standing together, a way that spoke of something deeper already.

"Nice of you to join us." Lucas greeted her. "No bitch squad party tonight?"

"What kind of squad?" Jennifer looked at him aghast.

"Uuuuuuh." Lucas had no idea what to say now.

"Bitch squad." Max came to his rescue, never shy to talk smack. "The girls at school who think they are better than everybody else because they are popular."

"And I am one of them?" Jennifer looked at her.

"You hang out with Stacy, right?" Max looked right back.

"Yeah?" Jennifer was confused.

"See, bitch squad." Max shrugged.

"Jen, honey, don't let her get into your head." Dustin put his hand on her shoulders.

"Do you guys think I'm a bitch?"

"Stacy certainly is one, Alexandra and Silvia too." Mike nodded. "Well, you not so much, I got to know you better since we started working at the pool."

"I had no idea." Jennifer gasped.

"Max, give her a chance." El told her fiery friend.

"Fine." Max nodded and stepped right in front of Dustin. "But if you hurt Dustin in any way, I will make your life hell."

"I have no intention of hurting him." Jennifer said. "I love him."

"Good." Max accepted that and led her keep going.

"Are we doing this out here?" Jennifer asked, looking at the barbecue.

"No, only until the meat is done, then we go eat inside." Mike told her, putting the first steaks into a box to keep them warm and flipping the patties once more.

"Girls, you wanna go inside now and leave the men out here until the food is done?" El suggested.

"Yes, it's freezing out here." Jennifer nodded.

"You really are going to leave us out here?" Lucas asked indignant.

"Yes, until all the meat is cooked." Max nodded.

"We are so whipped." Dustin sighed.

"Yeah." Mike and Lucas agreed and the three looked into the window at their girlfriends.

"But it's so worth it." Mike smiled.

"Yeah." Lucas and Dustin nodded and the three began laughing.

Half an hour later, the meat was finished cooking and Mike and Lucas brought the boxes into the house, Dustin holding the door open and taking the boxes from them after he had taken off his coat so the other guys could take theirs off too. They proudly presented the food to the girls, even acting like Neanderthals, grunting that they brought food and the girls presented the table, all the bowls with the various salads spread out.

El cut a piece of meat into small pieces for Holly while Mike filled her plate with a modest amount of tomato- and potato salad. The rest of the group began eating as if they had been starving for a week, Jennifer surprising them the most when she grabbed a steak, dunked it into barbecue sauce and ate it with her bare hands. Dustin looked as if he wanted to take her directly on the table and put his fork and knife down, also eating with his bare hands.

They even did a steak rendition of Lady and the Tramp, both eating a steak from the side and ending up in the middle, causing the others to laugh and Holly to gag at seeing another kiss. Max gorged herself on burgers, eating eight of them before holding her stomach. Two hours later, the table looked like a battlefield in World War One, remains of food everywhere and everyone leaning back in their chairs, holding their stomachs. When Max opened the buttons of her jeans to relief the pressure, the others used that as permission to do it as well.

The only one not like that was Holly, who had eaten nothing but the food that El and Mike had handed her and the entire bowl of tomato salad. Holly was running excitedly through the house, really looking forward to the fireworks at midnight.

"Rigor fullness is setting in." Dustin groaned.

"What?" Mike looked at him confused.

"You know, when you ate so much that you can't move." Dustin explained.

"Right." Lucas laughed.

They dragged themselves into the living room and collapsed on every upholstered surface to watch TV. During the next three hours, they began feeling better and Mike and El went into the kitchen to clean up, putting the little food that was still left in tupperware boxes and washing the dishes, Mike doing the washes while El dried them.

At eleven o'clock, the group left the house and got on their bikes, heading into the center of the town to find a good spot to watch the fireworks. They met Robin and Steve, who waved them along and took them into the arcade where they climbed on the roof to get a better look. When the clock got closer to midnight, they each took sparklers, even allowing Holly to hold one but making her promise to hold it far away from her face.

As the assembled people in the square began counting down, the group joined in and on midnight, everyone cheered, lighting the sparklers and holding them up. All the couples kissed, Holly giving more gagging noises at the display of affection and to everyone's surprise, even Robin had kissed Steve on the mouth, something that Steve was most surprised at.

Steve produced a bottle of sparkling wine and some flutes, giving each of them one glass, except Holly. The all drank to the new year, promising to each other to do certain things and Mike telling El that he loved her and wanted to see her as soon as possible. At around one in the morning, they went back the to the house, where they put a now very tired Holly to bed, El tucking her in and giving her kiss on the forehead which the little girl didn't even notice due to her falling asleep right away.

"El, can I talk to you?" Max whispered, cornering El in the bathroom.

"Sure." El nodded.

"Did Mike talk to Lucas?"

"He did." El chuckled.

"And?"

"Well, apparently Lucas liked to lick you very much until it was over because some of your pubes were sticking to the top of his gums and he had trouble getting them out." El explained.

"How did you and Mike deal with that?" Max wanted to know.

"Easy, I shaved it off before I came down from Chicago." El shrugged.

"Seriously?" Max gasped. "Wasn't that weird?"

"A bit, yeah." El confirmed. "But it was sooooo worth it."

"Huh." Max looked thoughtful. "Hey, listen..."

"Razor is on the top shelf, Mike has a very soft shaving cream in the cabinet under the sink and don't forget to dispose of the blade when you're done." El winked. "Wait here."

"For what?" Max wondered but El had already gone, only to come back twenty seconds later.

"In case you need it." El winked at her and handed her a condom packet.

"El." Max blushed but accepted it. "How do I know if it fits Lucas?"

"They fit Mike and his penis is bigger then Lucas's." El giggled.

"Pff." Max huffed. "Get out of here. Go get speared."

"I intend to." El laughed.

El left Max to do her thing and joined the guys in the basement where they prepared the pullout couch for Dustin and Jennifer. She knew that those two wouldn't need a condom tonight, Dustin not the type to rush into sex after only two days of being together and El managed to keep them out of the upstairs bathroom until Max had rejoined them.

Mike had prepared Nancy's bed for Lucas and Max, the couple thanking him before retreating into that room. Since Mike and Nancy's rooms shared a wall, Mike and El had to be pretty quiet when they made love again but it gave them the added bonus to hear the adventures of their friends who didn't know that the walls were pretty thin.

El described to Mike what Max had done and certain loud expressions from the other room told them what the others were doing. They even noticed the moment Max lost her virginity by the painful yelp that came through the wall, El wincing in sympathy pain when it made her remember that fateful Christmas night.

Fully aware that this night would their last for a while, El decided that sleep was completely overrated. She turned around and straddled Mike again, kissing him until he was ready again and repeating what they had already done.

And when the morning light came through the window, she opened the last condom packet.

* * *

**Alright, managed to finish this. Slow day at work.**

**Review please :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Guest: Did you read that she went to the changing booth to her stuff before the shower? ;) So, when she got the soap, she got "something else" too :D**

**Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I write for my own pleasure and that of the readers.**

* * *

"Good morning." El grinned at Max, who was just exiting the bathroom, a strange hobble in her step.

"Wipe that shit-eating grin off your face." Max smirked but couldn't hide her smile.

"So, how was it?" El giggled.

"How was what?" Max tried to be innocent.

"Max, you do realize that Nancy's and Mike's room share a rather thin wall, right?" El looked at her. "And we could hear you."

"Oh god!" Max cursed. "How much did you hear?"

"Well, there was 'Yeah, lick it baby' and Lucas trying to sound macho when he said 'Suck that dick' and you laughing afterwards, and then of course the moment you lost your virginity."

"Shit, you heard that too?" Max groaned.

"Yep, and I felt your pain." El rubbed her shoulders, which wasn't sympathetic but more mocking.

"Yeah, and what about you?" Max retorted.

"Oh, while you got your hymen popped, I rode Mike to heaven." El poked out her tongue, wondering why she was able to talk so openly about this. "But we managed to be quieter and your mind was most likely somewhere else."

"El, do you have another condom by any chance?" Max asked hopeful.

"No sorry, I had only three left and we used them all last night." El said.

"Jesus, who are you?" Max gasped.

"Actually, we used the last one a few minutes ago." El chuckled.

"Ah, so that's why you can talk so openly about this, you're still basking in the afterglow." Max nodded.

"Don't be mad that I have mind-blowing sex already." El giggled again.

"El, what I'm about to say will probably be hurtful to you but your smugness leaves me no choice." Max sighed but El knew that she didn't mean it in a truly mean way.

"So, what is it?" El asked.

"Today, you will leave for Chicago and will not have any sex with Mike until Spring Break." Max stated. "Whereas I can ride Lucas every day, or let him take me doggy style, or blow him, or have him lick me."

"You're mean!" El teared up, Max's words truly shoving a spike into her heart.

"I'm sorry." Max said, realizing she had gone too far and hugged a teary El. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay." El sniffed. "I shouldn't have started this. I need to use the bathroom now, I'll see you later."

"Okay." Max nodded.

"And if Lucas is still naked, have him put on some clothes, we don't know when Mike's parents will be back or if Holly would simply walk into everyone's rooms to wake us." El advised.

"Noted." Max nodded. "Next time, bring more condoms."

"Get your own." El huffed but smiled again before closing the bathroom door to use the toilet.

She was very tired. She never was a morning person and last night, she had barely slept, given that they had gone to bed at about two in the morning and then proceeded to make love, kiss for hours, make love again and kiss again and ultimately, make love once more. She didn't think she should allow herself to sleep, wanting to spend as much time with Mike as was possible until she had to leave. She could sleep on the train.

When she returned to his room, she saw him on the bed, drawing circles on the space she had vacated and a tired smile on his face. He was wearing shorts too, her warning to Max all too real in possibility and she joined him in bed again, her body snugly fitting against his as their lips connected.

To her, it felt right now like she was drowning and his mouth was an oxygen mask. She needed him, needed to feel him touch her, caress her, just his skin on hers. And yes, she was already missing his penis inside her, as crazy as that sounded given their age and how recent their carnal relationship was. Max's words had been all too real, she would not be able to be with him for the next three months while Max could be with Lucas every day if they so wished.

Two hours later, they heard the front door open and close and they got up, getting dressed and leaving the room to find Max and Lucas also leaving Nancy's. Descending the stairs, they found Karen and Ted putting down luggage and taking off their coats.

"Hey mom, hey dad." Mike greeted his parents. "How was your vacation?"

"It was great, son." Ted nodded. "But I missed my chair."

"Don't tell me you'll fall into old habits now." Mike sighed.

"No, don't worry." Ted shook his head. "What you told me made me realize that what I bring into this marriage isn't quite enough. And even if it didn't look like it, I never want to lose your mom just because I took her for granted."

"Good." Mike nodded.

"Mommy! Daddy!" a blond bundle of energy hurled itself from the stairs into her father's waiting arms.

"Hey, my little girl." Ted smiled and gave Holly a kiss on the cheek. "Your mother is in the kitchen."

"Mike, I see you helped yourself to a lot of meat." Karen smiled, standing in front of the open freezer.

"Yeah, we decided to have a New Year's Eve barbecue." Mike scratched his head. "Don't worry, we didn't burn down the backyard."

"Good morning, Mister Wheeler." Lucas greeted their host as they came down the stairs, both he and Max having cleaned Nancy's room, especially taking care to dispose of their used condom.

"Hey, you two." Karen greeted. "Did you sleep here?"

"Good morning, what's for breakfast?" a sleepy Dustin exited the basement, an equally sleepy Jennifer following him.

"Wow, there must be a nest somewhere." Ted joked. "I get the Raid."

"Very funny, dad." Mike rolled his eyes.

"Oh, Mister Wheeler. Misses Wheeler." Dustin swallowed after he realized who was here. "Um... this is my girlfriend Jennifer."

"Nice to meet you." Karen greeted her warmly. "Did you all sleep here last night?"

"Yeah, I hope that was okay, mom." Mike hesitated.

"Of course, honey." Karen smiled and turned to Holly. "Did you behave?"

"Yes, mommy." Holly nodded. "Mike let me stay awake for New Years and I even got to hold a sparkler."

"Don't worry, we made sure that she took a nap after lunch." El told Mike's mom.

Karen prepared a breakfast for the entire group, setting out fresh buns, butter, jam, cold cuts and everything else they could need, along with hot chocolate. Apart from Dustin, everyone ate only a small amount, since they were still full from the evening before and an hour later, they bid each other goodbye, everyone, even Jennifer, hugging El because she would have to leave for Chicago in a few hours.

"Mike?" El sniffed when they were alone.

"Yes?" he held her tightly.

"Can we go to the pool again?" she asked. "I wanted to try something."

"We don't have any condoms left." he pointed out.

"No, not that." El chuckled. "Although, too bad."

"What then?"

"I want to try to get into the void again, to see if I can find that mystery man." she said. "As long as you're with me, I feel safe to do so."

"Okay, lets go." he nodded and they went upstairs to pack their swim bag, both changing into their bikini and trunks respectively.

They bid goodbye to his parents and rode their bicycles to the pool, Mike unlocking the door and letting her through. They went to the same changing booths as before and left their stuff in them again, quickly moving to the pool area without bothering to shower before. El jumped into the pool and waited for Mike to join her, leaning back into the water.

Mike put his hand son her lower back and held her horizontal, El spreading her arms and closing her eyes. Her face scrunched in concentration but nothing happened, El opening her eyes again. Mike pointed to the igloo and El nodded, agreeing that it might help since it was darker inside that building. She let herself get pushed into the igloo, floating on the warm water of the pool and once inside, she closed her eyes again to concentrate.

"It's not working." El sighed, giving up after trying for fifteen minutes.

"It worked before, didn't it?" he asked, still holding her.

"Yeah, but only when I was in quite the mellow state or after you brought me to a climax." she replied. "I think I'm too wired right now to achieve the void."

"I have a crazy idea." he mused.

"What would that be?" she looked at him.

"Well, you said that you would need to be in an excited state, right?"

"Yeah." she nodded. "But we don't have any condoms left to get me that kind of excited."

"Do you trust me?"

"Of course." she said immediately.

"Then lets try." he said and gently pulled her bikini bottoms down her legs.

"Mike." she gasped.

"Just lie back in the water and close your eyes and try to concentrate." he said and pulled her to his head by her legs.

El moaned loudly when his lips connected to her folds. He gently ran it up and down, El shivering from the sensations and trying to do as he had asked, her eyes closed and her mind beginning to wander, though it wasn't very easy to do given what he was doing to her right now.

"Mike?" she breathed, keeping her eyes closed.

"Yes?" he asked, stopping momentarily.

"Can you... put your tongue in?" she asked, and Mike had to grin when her face blushed so hard, he became concerned that the water would begin to boil.

"I'll to everything you want." told her in a husky voice and pushed his tongue inside her, reaching around her waist with his left hand to rub her clit at the same time while his right continued to hold her up.

El gasped at the double sensation and took a deep breath, feeling the fluttering from her abdomen spread through her own body. She let her mind wander again and suddenly, she was surrounded by darkness, her bare feet touching a thin layer of water. She looked down at herself and blushed again, seeing herself only wearing a bikini top like she did in the real world and for a moment, she thought about stopping the experiment but since she was here, she might as well go on.

She began walking forward, trying to discern something out of the blackness, either image or sound. Her feet patted in the liquid that didn't make her wet and suddenly, she saw a desk coming into focus. She closed in on it and saw dozens of documents on it, some containing drawings, other just a string of words she couldn't read since they were upside down.

"You!" a male voice startled her and suddenly, she felt herself spun around before a hand crashed into her face, making her scream in shock and it felt as if her brain was being sucked out of her skull.

"Jane Ives, also known as subject eleven." the man said. "Taken from her mother's womb. Experimented on for eleven years. Fled in a moment of chaos after opening a gate to another dimension. Adopted by the police chief of Hawkins. After his death during an operation to thwart a Russian plot to reopen the dimensional gate, living with Joyce Byers and her sons in a Chicago suburb. Dating Michael Edward Wheeler. Called El by her friends. Powers consist of image-supported geolocation and telekinesis."

El tried with all her strength to push the man away, to get his hand away from her face but nothing she attempted worked. Suddenly, she felt a strange feeling overcoming her, something coming up from underneath the fear she felt of this man who seemed to know everything about her now but this new feeling made her muscles swell and her powers explode. What she didn't know was that her body in the real word was still being pleasured hard by her boyfriend and that this new feeling was her real body climaxing from his tongue.

With a scream fueled by the strength of her orgasm, she pushed the man away into the darkness, her head then snapping out of the water and her body going vertical, making her sit on his shoulders with his head squeezed between her legs. The climax was still crashing through her body and she moaned loudly, her hands clasping his head and holding him against her while his hands were on her lower back to hold her up.

"Oh gooood!" she keened and crashed backwards again, her body splashing into the water and her head momentarily submerging.

She coughed hard as she resurfaced and looked down at him, his head still pressed against her core. She could still feel his tongue moving against and inside her and his eyes smiled at her as she gasped for breath. She disentangled her legs from behind his head and floated away from him, Mike following her and handing her the bikini bottoms.

"The lights kept going out, did it work?" he asked concerned as she put it on.

"Yes." she nodded. "I shouldn't have done it."

"Why, what happened?"

"He surprised me." she almost cried. "He put his hand on my head and suddenly, he knew everything about me, my name, my birth name, what happened to me, my powers, about you, about dad, about Joyce. Everything."

"Shh, it's gonna be okay." he held her tight as she cried into his chest.

"Mike, what if the bad men come back?" El sniffed. "He knows where I live now."

"But he was also a test subject, like you, right?" Mike tried to calm her. "Why would he be working with the bad men?"

"I don't know." she admitted. "I'm still scared."

"I know." he sighed. "It will be okay."

"You don't know that." she argued.

"My love, if you start worrying that something will happen, you will never a calm day in your life again." Mike advised. "I'm not saying that you should forget everything but don't drive yourself crazy."

"Okay." she nodded. "Can we go home?"

"Of course." he nodded too and swam to the edge of the pool to get out, helping her come out too.

More subdued, they returned to the house and walked into the basement, where they cuddled and El demanded as much kissing as they could. Luckily, Karen thought that El's mood resulted from the fact that she had to leave in a short while and didn't say anything, only reminding them at two in the afternoon that El should begin packing her things.

Sad beyond measure, El and Mike began collecting her things, filling her bags and suitcases with clothing. Karen waited for them to come down and once they were done, she drove them to the train station in the neighboring town, all three standing on the platform where the train was already waiting for its departure time.

El and Mike were attached at the lips, both unable to separate. The more the clock ticked towards the train's departure, the more fervent their kisses became and Karen became concerned that these two would hurt each other with what they were doing. She was also concerned that these two would become depressed or worse once they were apart but she couldn't keep the girl here.

Then the moment came. The attendant blew the whistle, signaling the people to get into the train. Mike and El were both crying hard, unwilling to let go of each other but El had to leave, separating from him with the greatest reluctance and walking into the train car, quickly opening the window to push her arm out so he could take her hand.

"I will call you tonight on the SuperCom." Mike shouted over the increased noise of the train.

"I'll be waiting." she shouted back and fresh tears fell when the train began moving.

"I love you." he yelled as he ran with her as far as he could.

"I love you too." she yelled back. "Forever!"

"Lets go home, Mike." Karen sighed at her son's sorrow and led him out of the station, the train long gone.

"I miss her so much, mom." Mike cried.

"I know." Karen nodded.

El wasn't feeling any better. Still crying, she handed her ticket to the attendant, who stamped it and left her alone again. The train car was comparatively empty, so El tried didn't even try to calm down, simply letting her tears fall until she fell into an exhausted sleep, their sleepless night finally catching up with her.

Seven hours later, after the attendant had woken her once the train had stopped in Chicago, El stepped through the front door of the Byers resident, Joyce and the boys coming over quickly to hug her and help with her luggage and bringing it up to the bathroom to put the used clothes into the hamper.

"How was your vacation?" Joyce asked but El just burst out crying again as they walked into her room. "I see."

"I miss him." El cried, flopping down on her bed. "I don't want to be apart from him."

"I know." Joyce sighed and sat down next to her to comfort her. "Did you at least have fun?"

"A lot." El nodded, smiling warmly at the memories they made, something Joyce quickly noticed, also seeing that El's body language had changed in a very specific manner.

"Jane, tomorrow, after school, I'm taking you to my gynecologist." Joyce told her resolutely.

"Why?" El looked up at her.

"You need to go on the pill." Joyce gave her a knowing smirk, El blushing hard.

"I hate you." El gasped, deeply embarrassed that Joyce had picked up on the fact that she wasn't a virgin anymore. "Thank you, though."

"Your welcome." Joyce chuckled and gave her a hug. "Get some sleep, you look tired."

"I will." El nodded and went to take a shower.

Her evening was spent talking to Mike on the SuperCom before she fell into a deep slumber, the sleepness night and the day finally catching up to her.

* * *

He opened his eyes and winced from the pain in his side from where he had hit the floor. That little girl had a well of strength that was incredible and when she had pushed him away with her mind, she had actually thrown him out of the void and he had flown from his chair, hitting the wall of his office and sliding to the ground.

"Bryan?" his colleague got his attention, seeing him on the floor. "What happened?

"Marcus." Bryan nodded at the man as he got up. "What's up?"

"The director wants to see you."

"The director himself?" Bryan looked surprised. "You know what it's about?"

"No, Filmore simply called me and told me to get you up there." Marcus shrugged and led Bryan into the elevator, taking it to the floor where the director's office was located on.

"What happened?" Marcus asked when he saw Bryan wincing.

"I'll tell you later." Bryan said.

"Alright." Marcus accepted that and together, they stepped out of the elevator and walked into the director's office.

"Director Webster." Bryan nodded to his boss after getting in.

"Agent Templeton." Webster nodded back and pointed to a chair. "I called you in for your, uh... special talents."

"I'm at your service." Bryan nodded and pointed to the aide. "I take it that he has the necessary clearances?"

"This was handed down from the analysts." the director nodded, the aide handing a folder to Bryan. "What can you make of this?"

"Nothing." Bryan shook his head after holding the folder for a few seconds. "It's already processed information."

"So?"

"To make use of my special talents, I need the raw data." Bryan explained. "With this, I can only repeat what the analysts have already determined."

"The raw data is a massive amount of information." the aide stated. "The audio surveillance transcripts alone fill a hundred and twenty boxes with twenty folders each."

"No problem." Bryan shrugged. "Where are they?"

"Down in the basement." the aide told them.

"Then lets go there." Webster stated and got up.

"Mister director, you're needed..." the aide tried.

"Warren, this is too important." his boss stopped the objections. "The Russians are doing something they are sure can win them the cold war."

"Sir, the Soviet Union is on the brink of collapse, do you really think they can pose a danger like this?" Marcus asked confused.

"Agent Stevens, you should know by now, an animal is the most dangerous when it's cornered." Webster said and led the group out of his office and to the elevators, riding down to the basement and walking through the hallways to the storage room where the binders were located.

"Is this it?" he asked his aide.

"Yes, sir." the aide nodded.

"Agent Templeton." Webster pointed to the boxes.

"Marcus, help me with this." Bryan said and took the first box, unpacking twenty folders.

"You, come here." Marcus pointed at the aide.

"Go." the director nodded after the aide looked at his boss for confirmation.

"What do you need me to do?" Warren asked.

"I will get the boxes." Marcus explained. "Bryan will unpack them and consume the information. Your job is to put them back into the boxes."

Marcus placed the first box on the table, opening the lid. Bryan took out the first folder, holding it in his hand for a few seconds before putting it aside, then repeating it with the next and the next and the next. Warren kept putting them away, placing the processed boxes to the side while Bryan continued to take one folder after another into his hands. After half the boxes were finished, his nose began to bleed, leading Marcus to produce a box of tissues to wipe the blood away.

The director called in another aide with the necessary clearances from one of the basement offices, ordering him to take over Marcus' job with the boxes so the other agent could take care of Bryan. It took another half an hour until the last box plus the boxes with the other information was finished, Bryan almost collapsing on the spot were it not for Marcus helping him steady himself and lead him to a nearby chair.

"Get some water!" Webster ordered his aide, the young man hurrying out of the room to comply. "Is he alright?"

"He'll have a massive headache for the next few hours or so but otherwise he'll be fine." Marcus explained as the aide returned with a bottle of water.

"Thanks." Bryan nodded to the man and took a long drought.

"Can you tell me something already?" Director Webster asked.

"Yes, and none of it's good." Bryan nodded. "According to the transcripts and the other surveillance information, the Russians have rebuilt their experimental machinery and are actively trying to open a gate to that other dimension again."

"What?" Webster looked confused.

"Last year, the Russians infiltrated a small town in Indiana called Hawkins." Bryan explained. "They had built a machine that was shooting at a tear in time and space, trying to open a portal to another dimension. According to earlier aerial and satellite intelligence, they were trying to do it in a facility in Kamchatka but failed."

"Okay, lets for the moment assume that his other dimension thing is actually real." Webster stated, still not quite believing it. "What would they gain from it?"

"The Russian reports state that a... creature came through when the gate in their facility first opened. Almost immune to bullets and highly aggressive." Marcus took up the tale, knowing that from earlier reports. "Imagine an army of those creatures attacking us. There was another gate under a lab in the town of Hawkins, Indiana but that gate appeared to have opened naturally but it closed again a year later. The Russians then infiltrated Hawkins and built their machinery under the lab to manually open that gate because it might have been easier."

"The gate itself is a weapon too." Bryan added. "Just think about it. If the Russians could open a gate inside their facility and also manage to open the apparently natural one under Hawkins, they could send a million troops into the middle of our country without us ever knowing about it. And maybe they could open gates to other places too. Imagine hundreds of thousand of Russian soldiers suddenly appearing in Washington DC. Or worse, an atomic bomb suddenly detonating under the White House."

"Dear god!" Webster gasped. "Do the transcripts say why they're doing it again given that their research apparently failed before?"

"This time, they have a prisoner." Bryan said, the information flowing through his brain. "Someone who came out of what seems to have been a short-lived, temporary gate from the other dimension. And he's an American."

"An American?" Webster looked aghast. "Who?"

"According to the Russians, his name is James Hopper."

* * *

**There's a guy out there that almost everyone hates. I do too. But he often comes by and you have to accept that he's there. His name is Cliff. Cliff Hanger. :D And he will stay a while unless you, the readers show me your love ^^ *wink wink*  
**

**Review please :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**grievesforyou: he will have a role to play still :D**

**Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I write for my own pleasure and that of the readers.**

* * *

_Six months ago:_

"Shit, shit, shit!" he cursed as he ran again, the howling coming closer.

He grabbed the metal rod from the Russian machine harder, a sharp piece of metal that was flung through the portal with him when the machine exploded. He had been forced to use it quite a few times since he started walking, fending off demodogs and killing them by beating or stabbing them to death. The rod was bent and already starting to rot from the environment but even without, he was sure that he would die from exposure or simple exhaustion before he was without a weapon.

He had no idea how long he had been running when he saw a red light in the distance. It was only a small dot but he used its presence as a lifeline, moving across the vines and dirt, seeing it grow larger the closer he got. He looked to his left and saw one of those damn dogs running parallel to him as if gauging if it should attack. He ran faster, the red light coming closer and closer until he realized that it was like the gate he had jumped through, only smaller.

When he reached it, he looked around, not seeing the dog but hearing its howl, as if it was calling for more to come. He looked at the small round shape, touching it and feeling a gooey mass, like jello hanging between what was looking like decrepit walls. He knew that he wouldn't fit through that, so he took his rod and began pounding at the wall, breaking off pieces to make the gate larger.

"Oh no, NO!" he screamed when he saw the edges of the gate begin to close.

He slammed the rod into the wall, large chunks falling off and when he felt that it was large enough, he pushed his hand into the goo, feeling it exit on the other side and full of hope, he climbed through the gate, his mind's eye imagining himself being born from a wall. The goo clung to him, wrapping him in what felt like wax and with a final push, he was through and falling onto a concrete floor, the gate immediately closing behind him and as he looked around, he saw two men in Russian uniforms running towards him, their weapons not raised. They were probably thinking he was one of them due to him still wearing the stolen Russian uniform himself.

"Well, shit!" he cursed, giving himself away to not being Russian.

"Cтой!" the left soldier shouted at him and both raised their weapons at him. "Pуки вверх в воздухе!"

"Okay, okay." he groaned, putting his hands up when they pointed their weapons at him.

"кто ты?" the other one shouted. "как тебя зовут?"

"I have no idea what you're saying!" he tried to get them to understand.

They grabbed his arms and hauled him away, pushing and pulling and carrying him through a long corridor until they reached an elevator. It took several minutes for them to reach whatever level they were bringing him to but when he exited, he sighed in defeat when he saw the long lines of doors one the walls with a large cage in the middle that engulfed all the levels. They brought him further until they came into a small room with a two chairs and a table between them, clearly an interrogation chamber They chained him to the table and left him alone.

He was in a prison. Given the language his captors were speaking, he wondered how he had gotten to Russia after walking through this Upside Down dimension for only what felt like days. His stomach was growling and his throat was parched, the ragged Russian uniform he was wearing had holes everywhere and the wounds he had received from that Russian assassin kept bugging him. After several minutes, the door opened again, two different soldiers and a man in civilian clothes entering the small cell he was in.

"You are American?" the not-soldier asked with a heavy accent and handed him a cup with a liquid he drank quickly.

"Thank you." he sighed. "Yes, I'm an American."

"How did you get here?" came the next question

"I honestly have no idea." he replied. "I was wandering through a dark place and saw a red light and managed to crawl through."

"What is your name?" was the next question asked and he thought that it should have been the first.

"Jim Hopper." Hopper said, feeling the pain from his ordeal in the other dimension catching up with him now that the almost constant adrenaline rush was over.

"Jim Hopper, you are wearing the uniform of a Russian soldier." the man said. "Where did you get it?"

"I took it from a dead one in my home town." Hopper growled.

"What happened to my comrades there." came the next question.

"They're dead." Hopper shrugged. "We destroyed the machine."

"Отведите его в камеру!" the man ordered with a bark, standing up and leaving the room.

The two soldiers grabbed him and shoved and pulled him along the corridors until they were back in the large area with that had all those doors to the cells. They opened one of the doors and threw him inside, a bucket and a cot with a hard mattress the only pieces of furniture, a light fixture above him offering a light he wasn't sure would ever be turned off.

He knew from his time in Vietnam what would follow now. They'd probably let him stew for a few days and then the torture would begin to get the truth out of him. Though he was pretty sure that the truth wasn't something these people would accept. On the first day, they cleaned and fed him and handed him a prison uniform. From day two to day twenty, they kept him in isolation, only pushing a tray of food into his cell and a new bucket for waist and one for washing every day and he had to push his used waste bucket out.

On day twenty-one, the torture began.

* * *

Despite the fact that she was missing him dearly, the weeks since their separation became easier to manage for El. They still talked every day, regaling each other with what they did and proclaiming their love for each other and, more from El's side than from his, voicing their desire to have sex again.

El could scarcely believe how much she was missing the sexual aspect of their relationship. It was still all so new and she craved the feeling of their most intimate connection. She felt like without him, she was incomplete, as if his penis inside her filled her more than just physically. She missed his breaths in her ear, hearing his moans, his hands on her breasts as she gave him pleasure and he gave her even more.

To alleviate this, she threw herself into her school work, doing her homework on time and writing some truly beautiful pieces for creative writing, some of which the teacher even entered in writing contests. One of her pieces was even published in a journal, making her insanely proud of herself and after she had told Mike about it, he was positively gushing in his praise.

She also joined the track and field team, quickly becoming one of the fastest and more sustained runners in the school. During a meet, she won first price in the five mile steeplechase, her experience of running through the woods helping her in that regard. She also placed high in the two hundred meter sprint and the two mile run.

Mike, on the other hand, felt even worse. He barely woke up without having dreamed of El anymore, his morning erection almost painful. He also threw himself into this swimming, and one day, he managed three hours of continuous exertion. To his surprise, girls were still sitting in the pool when he swam but now that he knew from Jennifer that they were there to watch him, he did them the favor of showing off his body that completely belonged to a certain girl in Chicago.

Thanks to the daily communication they still had, both did well in school, but both feeling anticipation of the upcoming spring break. January and February passed, March rolled in and Mike became giddy at the prospect of seeing El again, Easter only a few weeks away, with its following week off from school. They had already made plans for Mike to visit El and Will in Chicago while Jonathan and Nancy would take a little vacation together.

"I read your story." Mike said into the microphone one chilly evening in mid-March.

"You did?" El asked surprised. "I didn't think it was that widespread."

"When you told me what journal it would be in, I ordered the issue." he chuckled.

"So, what did you think?"

"It was incredible." he said truthfully. "You wrote about your own childhood."

"You picked up on that, huh." she smiled.

"Apart from the changed setting and the names, it was the same." Mike nodded to himself. "Beautifully written. But so sad."

"Thank you." she smiled warmly. "I miss you so much."

"I miss you too." he sighed. "I want to take you into my arms and hold you, I want to kiss you."

"I want that too." El said longingly. "And I really want to have sex again, so much."

"I didn't want to say it, but me too." he laughed. "Did you tell anyone that we already had sex?"

"Joyce knew right away." El groaned at the memory. "She took me to her gynecologist the day after I got back."

"What for?" Mike felt apprehensive.

"She put me on birth control pills." El explained and could hear Mike exhale audibly. "Did you just breath a sigh of relief?"

"I did." Mike admitted. "I thought you were pregnant."

"What would you have done if I had been?" she asked, worrying about the answer.

"Well, I would have freaked out, wondered how it happened since we used protection, freaked out some more, then I would have freaked out so much until my mom realized what was going on, then dodged her wrath, then freaked out some more and at some point I would have been happy." he admitted with a chuckle.

"You would have been happy?" she asked with a smile.

"Of course, even though I might have taken a while to get there." Mike replied. "I love you and I would love to start a family with you but not for another few years."

"Me too." she was happy to hear that but got sad right after, Mike hearing her sniff.

"El, what's wrong?"

"It just hit me, you know?" El cried. "When we get married someday, there won't be a father walking me down the aisle."

"I know." Mike sighed, wishing he could be with her right now to comfort her. "I don't know what to say."

"It's okay." she calmed down. "It's not your fault."

"I wish I could be with you right now to comfort you." Mike sighed.

"Talking to you is comforting." El said. "Though I admit, it would be much better in person."

"Two more weeks." Mike smiled giddily. "Are you studying hard for your midterms?"

"Yeah." she nodded. "I don't really have much else to do after my homework and training."

"By the way, the bitch squad still watches me swim." Mike chuckled.

"Remind me to hurt them badly when I'm back in Hawkins." El grumbled.

"You can't tell me boys in your school don't ogle you when you wear those tiny shorts during your track and field training." Mike laughed.

"Well, yeah, I guess." she shrugged. "Then again, all the girls in my group wear those and have great asses."

"Yours is still the best." Mike grinned broadly, even though she couldn't see it.

"How can you tell? You don't know what theirs look like." she played along.

"Maybe you could introduce me and ask them to put on their shorts to I can compare?" he asked innocently.

"In your dreams, Wheeler." El laughed.

"Actually, in my dreams, it's only you." he laughed with her.

"And how much clothing am I wearing in your dreams?" she wanted to know.

"In some, we're somewhere, so you're clothed, though you do show some skin so other boys get jealous of me." Mike told her. "In others, you're naked or wearing one of my shirts with nothing underneath it, so I can remove it quickly once we're alone."

"Mike, I read about another position we can do." El giggled.

"Oh?" Mike could already feel himself get hard just thinking about her.

"It's called a sixty-nine." she said proudly. "Have you heard about it?"

"Um, no, I don't think so." Mike tried to remember if he had read about that one in one of Steve's magazines.

"It's a position where we can both pleasure each other with our mouths at the same time." El giggled. "I really want to do that."

"Sounds great." Mike panted, his anticipation already sky high. "You may wanna kick Will and Joyce out of the house when I get there."

"Don't worry, we won't have to be totally quiet." El laughed. "Joyce knows we're doing it already and my room is between the bathroom and Jonathan's room, which will be empty when you come here."

"I'll make sure to bring enough protection." Mike grinned.

"Sweetie, you don't have to." El giggled again. "Didn't you listen to me? Joyce put me on the pill, there are no condoms required anymore. Now I get to feel you directly without that pesky latex between us."

"Jesus, I want to be there with you right now." Mike cursed, his erection straining against his pajamas.

"If you were here right now, I would strip you naked and throw you on my bed." she breathed into her SuperCom. "I would take your big cock into my mouth and slowly move my head down, all the while looking into your eyes to see your reaction to it."

Mike couldn't take it anymore. As he listened to El describing in minute detail what she would do, he pulled his pajamas down to release his erection, putting his hand around it and gently stroking it. He closed his eyes and followed her voice, imagining what she was saying and only four minutes later, he groaned into the microphone, releasing his pressure into his hands.

"Did you just come?" El asked with a laugh.

"Yeah, I did." he nodded. "Give me a minute to clean my hand."

He put down the microphone and grabbed a tissue while trying to ignore her laughing, wiping his hands and wrapping it around his manhood before stuffing both back into his pajamas. Then he opened his door, looking into the hallway to see if it was empty and quickly hurrying into the bathroom where he properly cleaned himself before returning to his bedroom.

"I'm back." he said into the mic.

"Feeling better now?" El giggled.

"A bit." he admitted. "But not even a close comparison to the real thing."

"That's true." she agreed. "When I pleasure myself, I always think of you and how much better it would be if you were here."

"Jesus, now I won't be able to think about anything else but you lying in your bed and pleasuring yourself." he groaned.

"Just think about this." El giggled. "When you're here, I'm going to chain you to my bed and have my way with you."

"Michael, it's almost midnight, you should get some sleep." Karen suddenly disturbed them, keeping Mike from groaning into the mic again.

"Sorry, Karen, I kept him awake." El's voice came from the speakers.

"Hi, El." Karen smiled at the microphone. "I understand that you two miss each other, but it's a school night."

"I understand." El agreed. "Night Mike, we'll talk tomorrow."

"Yes." Mike nodded, even though she couldn't see it. "I love you."

"I love you too."

With great reluctance, Mike put the microphone down and shut down the cerebro.

He pulled the covers over his body and shut off his table lamp, closing his eyes and imagining El pleasuring herself. With a groan, he tried to get the image out of his mind for the moment, because if not, he wouldn't find any sleep tonight.

* * *

"Seriously guys?" Mike huffed, looking at the couple. "In the AV room? Our sanctuary?"

"Sorry." they had their heads down, embarrassment written on their faces.

"I know this is still new to you but come on." Dustin added, standing next to Mike.

"I said, we're sorry." Lucas huffed.

"I don't think I will ever be able to unsee this." Dustin groaned. "I mean, seriously, we're best friends and all but walking in on you while Lucas is in the middle of an orgasm is not something even best friends should share. And I sat in Mike's basement while Lucas farted."

"At least they were using a condom." Mike sighed.

"How is that better?" Dustin looked at him.

"Imagine Lucas's sperm all over the table." Mike pointed at the equipment.

"Ugh." Dustin shuddered. "Guys, please tell me the truth. Did you only do it against the table or did you sit on the chairs too?"

"Shut up!" Max huffed and walked past them.

"Don't worry, just standing against the table." Lucas chuckled. "Dustin, how's it going with Jennifer?"

"It's going well." Dustin replied. "But don't change the subject. How often has this room been soiled?"

"This was the first time." Lucas said, and both Mike and Lucas could tell that he was lying.

"Dude." Mike sighed.

"Come on, do you know how hard it is for me and Max to get physical?" Lucas complained. "I can't really visit her because of her racist stepdad and when I invite her to my house, my parents and especially my sister rarely leave us alone."

"You're complaining?" Mike huffed. "Do you know how hard it is for me and El to get physical, given that she's living over two hundred miles away?"

"Sorry." Lucas shrugged. "But you'll get to see her in two weeks, right?"

"Finally." Mike nodded.

"How do you get there?" Dustin asked. "Train?"

"No, since Nancy and Jonathan are taking a vacation together, she'll drive us up there. My return trip will be by train though."

"You're looking forward to it, don't you." Dustin grinned.

"You have no idea." Mike groaned. "Living so far apart is really a pain in the ass."

"Are you going to get out of the bedroom at some point?" Lucas grinned.

"Maybe." Mike chuckled. "I wish she was still living here."

"I think we all would love that." Dustin agreed. "I mean, we haven't seen Will since Thanksgiving."

"Why didn't you ask to come up with us during spring break?" Mike asked him. "I'm pretty sure his mom would have said okay."

"Because my mom is taking me to my aunt and uncle." Dustin sighed. "Not for the whole week but you'll already be gone when I get back."

"We're leaving on Thursday afternoon, right after school." Mike told them.

"Damn, you're not wasting any time, are you." Lucas laughed.

"Hey Lucas, if you and Max look for a love shack, why don't you try Castle Byers?" Mike suggested. "I mean, I think you have to fix it up a bit, but it should still be in the woods behind their old house."

"That's... actually not such a bad idea." Lucas nodded thoughtfully. "Gotta find Max!"

"We need to get back to class anyway." Mike said and led them out of the AV room.

The rest of the week was spent in dreariness, a sudden spring rainstorm drenching them on their way home on Friday. Apart from his swimming and doing his job as lifeguard, Mike spent his time studying for the midterms, getting as much knowledge into his head as possible. It also helped distract him from thinking about El, though he still dreamed about her almost every night.

The first midterm was English literature, something he liked to do, given his proclivity for writing D&D campaigns. He wrote a lot in their essays, his pen flying over the page and his words flowing out of him. It took him almost to the end of the two hours to write almost a thousand words, after which his wrist was hurting pretty badly, though he felt good about what he had delivered.

Next was biology, something else he loved to do and he felt that the questions were very easy. Whenever he looked around, he noticed Dustin struggling with some of it while Max and Lucas also felt normal about it. With some glee, he noticed that Troy was having a lot of trouble with his work, often not writing at all.

His last midterm was math, the one he had dreaded the most but it was the Thursday before Good Friday, so he fought through it, doing every term twice to make sure he had it right and cursing when he came to a different solution than the first time. He still managed to get through it, praying to every deity that was listening that he passed it.

They had a little gathering after school, meeting at the arcade to play a few games before Mike had to go. Mike repeated his suggestion about Castle Byers to Max, the redhead perking up at the mention of a secluded location and the two left even before he and Dustin had finished their ice cream.

"Hey Dustin, how's it going with you and Jennifer?" Mike asked him.

"It goes well." Dustin nodded. "I think her father is warming up to me since he found out that we both like Dark Shadows."

"I never would have thought that about Mister Hayes." Mike chuckled. "Good for you."

"Yeah, though the first eight weeks were hell." Dustin sighed. "When I was at their house, her dad made a five minute rule."

"What was that?" Mike wondered. "You had to leave after five minutes?"

"No, we weren't allowed to be alone in a room for more than five minutes." Dustin sighed. "Even when we just did homework, her mom or dad came in every five minutes to check on us. As if they were afraid we would, I don't know, start to have sex on her bed."

"Isn't that weird given that you and Jennifer spent the night together at New Years?"

"I guess they're under the impression that we were six people sleeping in the same room and that your parents were home." Dustin shrugged. "I'm not going to tell them the truth about that."

"Good for you." Mike laughed and looked at his watch. "Alright, I gotta go home now, check if I packed everything."

They headed out and got on their bicycles, both riding off towards their homes. Mike took the left turn that would lead to his home while Dustin kept going straight. Once Mike was home, he put his bike into the garage and headed into the house proper, going up the stairs to check if his luggage contained enough clothing for the week.

"You got everything?" Karen asked as she joined him.

"I think so." Mike nodded.

"Will El come here again?" Holly asked, also entering his room.

"No, I will go to her this time." Mike told her.

"I wanna see her again, she's fun." Holly whined.

"Yes, she is." Mike smiled. "Hopefully, she'll come here again during summer break."

"I'm glad you're able to make it work long distance." Karen said.

"It helps that we can talk daily." Mike nodded.

"I'm so relieved that you have this communication tower." Karen chuckled. "I dare to think about how much the phone bill would be if you called her every day."

"Yeah." Mike laughed.

"Mike, you ready?" Nancy asked, also entering his room. "We need to go if we want to be there at an acceptable hour."

"Ready." Mike nodded and grabbed his luggage, carrying all of it down the stairs and almost tripping along the way.

"Mike, make two trips." Karen advised.

"Takes too long." Mike shook his head, much to Karen's humor.

"So, how will your travel work?" Karen asked. "You drive to Chicago and from there you drive all the way to Buffalo?"

"Yes, we planned that I will sleep there tonight and in the morning, me and Jonathan continue on to Buffalo." Nancy nodded. "It's another eight to ten hours of driving to get there."

"So wait, if you have to get Jonathan home after your vacation, can't you take Mike with you?" Karen asked. "It would save him the money to buy a train ticket."

"Actually, I could." Nancy nodded.

"Great." Mike smiled. "Can we go now?"

"Someone's eager to see El." Karen smiled warmly, happy that her son has found what looked like true love.

"You have no idea." Mike chuckled and put his luggage into the trunk before hugging his mother and Holly.

He sat down into the passenger seat and waited until Nancy got into the driver's seat. When she began driving, he could barely contain his anticipation of seeing the love of his life again. Driving through town appeared as painfully slow but as they were about to get past the town's sign, Nancy slowed down and stopped on a small gravel road, turning off the engine before turning to him.

"Mike, I noticed the change in you." Nancy said.

"What do you mean?" Mike was legitimately confused.

"You and El had sex already, hadn't you?" she clarified.

"Um..." Mike stammered, giving Nancy her answer.

"Mike." she groaned.

"Hey, it was an accident." he defended himself.

"How can you have sex accidentally?" Nancy scoffed.

"We did what both you and Joyce asked, we kept it to experimenting without actually doing it." Mike explained. "But then we were naked and she was... moving, you know, on top of me. And then I pulled her down for a kiss and she moved too far forward and when she moved back again, I was suddenly inside her. I quickly pulled out again."

"And that was it?" Nancy gaped at him.

"Well..."

"Oh, Mike." she closed her eyes.

"Hey, I didn't initiate it." he chuckled.

"Did you ever think about saying no?"

"Uh... no." Mike looked at her as if she sprouted a second head. "She was naked and said if I didn't put it in, she'd break up with me."

"She was kidding." Nancy huffed but had to accept the fact that her little brother was sexually active.

"We did use protection from that point on, don't worry." Mike said. "And Joyce put her on the pill as well."

"Oh lord, at least try to go out a few times during the week." Nancy smirked at him and began driving again.

For Mike, the minutes passed in excruciating slowness, especially given that Nancy kept smirking at him essentially all the way to Chicago.

* * *

**Alright, early shift next week. Which means, my brain will be rather mushy once I'm home, so I don't know how much I will be writing. I have parts of the next chapter for Living Arrangements finished though, so I may be able to finish that one tomorrow during my lunch break.**

**But not unless you...**

**Review please :)**


	17. Chapter 17

**Cookie003: You can give suggestions in your feedback anyway. Depending on what it is, I might include it in a future chapter, if the situation fits. I also have a second story in Stranger Things going, you can read that too ;)**

**mityuk: SAme for you, I have another Stranger Things story out there, you can read that too to hold you over ^^**

**Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I write for my own pleasure and that of the readers.**

* * *

"Can't this rust bucket go any faster?" Mike grumbled.

"Hey, don't mock my car." Nancy chuckled. "Calm down, we're almost there."

"We should have started earlier." Mike sighed.

"You do realize that it was almost inevitable that this happened, right?" Nancy looked at him. "I mean, a traffic jam on the start of Easter weekend?"

"I'd have thought that most people leave on Friday morning." Mike shrugged.

"It's only ten more miles." Nancy said and concentrated back on the road.

"But it's almost ten-thirty already." Mike whined.

"Jesus, I know you're missing El, but can you show a little patience please?" Nancy barked at him. "I can't drive any faster. I don't want to break any traffic laws before my vacation."

"Sorry." Mike apologized.

"And please, for the love of god, remember that I have to get up early tomorrow so me and Jonathan can drive to Buffalo, so keep the noise to a minimum, alright?" Nancy smiled at him, making Mike blush.

"We don't..." Mike began.

"Oh, don't give me that crap." Nancy laughed. "I know that you two will have sex the moment El's door closes."

Mike could only blush at his sister's statement because he knew that it was most likely true. He wouldn't push El, he would wait for her to make the move to make absolutely sure that she wanted it too and if she did, there wasn't a circumstance where would say no, except Joyce or Will walking in. Otherwise, he would give her the pleasure she wanted.

It took twenty minutes to reach the house Joyce had rented after moving here. Mike could see someone standing in the window and he jumped out of the car as soon as the engine was off, opening the trunk to take out their luggage, handing Nancy her bags and taking his own before she put hers back into the trunk, since she and Jonathan would leave in the morning. Both walked to the door, which opened to reveal his stunning girlfriend.

"Mike!" El squealed and ran out to him, jumping into his arms with Mike dropping his bags just in time to catch her.

Nancy grinned at the two, watching how hard they kissed each other while El's legs wrapped around Mike's hips so she could hold herself up. She went into the house, Jonathan quickly hugging her too and giving her a loving kiss before escorting her into the living room where she hugged Joyce and Will.

"Where's Mike?" Joyce asked.

"Where do you think." Nancy chuckled.

"They're doing their Siamese twin thing again." Will grinned.

"Tell them to at least come in, no need to let all those insects into the house." Joyce told them and Will went outside to poke them both.

"Could you take this inside?" Will asked and Mike nodded, letting go of El who simply squeezed her legs tighter to hold herself while Mike bent his knees to blindly take his bags.

"Jeez, stop for a moment, will you?" Will laughed. "You have ten whole days to do this."

"Not even remotely enough." El whined as she let go of Mike, dropping to the ground and taking one of his three bags.

"Yeah." Mike agreed and followed El into the house, his girlfriend giving her hips an extra sway and winking at him when she turned her head. "Minx."

"Mike!" Joyce smiled at him and gave him a hug. "Welcome back."

"Glad to be back." Mike hugged her back. "Thanks for letting me stay here."

"Are you kidding?" Joyce laughed. "If I had said no, El would have either flung me through the window or simply hitchhiked to Hawkins. Maybe both."

"No, she wouldn't have." Mike looked at El whose face said the difference.

"Maybe I would." she shrugged innocently, seeing his aghast look. "What? I missed you."

"Remind me to never make you mad." Mike laughed and took her in his arms again, kissing her temple.

"If you guys wanna watch TV, you can, I'm going to bed." Joyce said.

"No, we're heading to bed too, we have to leave early tomorrow." Jonathan shook his head, Nancy nodding her agreement and both wished the others goodnight before leaving them alone.

"I don't think they want to watch TV." Will chuckled, making El and Mike blush.

"Please, keep the noise level down then." Joyce smiled. "It's hard enough knowing that you are having sex already at fifteen."

"I..." Mike stammered.

"We promise." El smiled back, glad that Joyce was this understanding.

"I think I'll read a a bit while listening to music." Will winked at them and left them alone.

"So..." Mike took a deep breath, unsure on how to proceed.

"Lets go!" El grabbed his hand and pulled him into her room.

"Hey, you want to... WHOA!" Mike yelped when El suddenly pushed him and he flew onto the bed, while she kicked the door shut and locked it. "Did you just use your powers on me?"

"Maybe." El smirked and climbed into bed after him, crawling forward like a cat on the prowl.

"Does that mean you can access them again at will?" Mike asked, his hands running over her thighs when she straddled him.

"Still not the way I used to but I'm getting better again." she nodded, taking off her shirt and seeing his eyes go wide. "I've been practicing."

"That's great!" he exclaimed, his hands moving up to cup her bra-covered breasts. "Beautiful."

"So, you wanna talk more about my powers?" she smiled coyly, leaning down to kiss him. "Or do you want to get naked and show me how happy you are to see me?"

"I choose door number two." he said seriously and sat up, taking her with him and taking off his shirt as well while El unhooked her bra and took it off.

"Mmmmh, that feels nice." she breathed when his lips closed around her right nipple. "I missed this so much."

"Me too." he agreed and pulled her down for another kiss but she simply pushed him down again.

"Mike, we can cuddle and kiss afterwards." she winked and stood up, pulling down her sweatpants and panties in one swoop before dropping down again to unbutton his pants and pulling them off as well. "Someone's happy to see me."

"He's always happy to see you." Mike chuckled, his erection straining against his shorts, which El quickly took off too. "El, you wanna...?"

"Nope." she hook her head and straddled him again, lining herself up and grabbing his manhood through her legs. "We can do foreplay another time, tonight, I simply need you."

"Oh god, how I missed this!" he groaned when she lowered herself.

"Shit, it feels even better without a condom." El moaned, beginning to move after a few seconds of simply enjoying the feeling. "Lets try to be quick and quiet."

"After two weeks without touching myself, quick is what you will get." he chuckled and pulled her down to him to kiss her.

"Fuck, keep doing that!" she moaned into his mouth when he began thrusting upward fast.

For Mike, this feeling of doing it without a condom made him regret that he didn't masturbate a day or two before to desensitize himself a bit. He quickly felt his climax coming and it took him just four minutes before he came, groaning into her mouth as he pounded upwards until the pulses stopped and he sank back, weak in the legs.

"That was fast." El giggled and climbed off of him.

"Sorry." he apologized. "Will make it longer the next time."

"You better." she grinned and felt a strange sensation on her leg. "Ew! One disadvantage of not using a condom."

"Yeah." he nodded and looked away when she began cleaning away his spill with a tissue.

"Small price to pay." she winked at him and jumped back into bed, straddling him again just to feel his body against hers. "I missed you so much."

"I've missed you too." he sighed and held her tight.

"How are the others doing?" she asked.

"Well, Dustin and Jennifer are getting along fine, her dad even allows him into their house now, though they're not leaving them alone in any room for more than five minutes." he told her.

"Her parents don't know that they spent the night together on New Years, do they?" she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Nope, and they surely won't tell them." he grinned.

"What about Lucas and Max?"

"We caught them doing it in the AV room last week." Mike shuddered. "Our sanctuary in school and they violated it."

"I bet they liked that." El laughed.

"We came in right when Lucas was finishing." Mike recounted. "Hearing that was something I won't forget for a while ."

"I'm curious, how did Max sound?" El wanted to know.

"In that moment, we didn't hear her at all, I don't know if she was just quiet or if Lucas' impression of a moose drowned out her sounds." Mike shrugged, making El laugh.

"So, wanna get some sleep or wanna cuddle some more?" she asked.

"Cuddling is always nice, but we really should sleep." he sighed. "Sitting in a car for hours is always stressful for me, given my long legs."

"Turn around." she ordered after sitting up, waiting until he did before she straddled his ass.

"Oh, that feels nice." he hummed when El began massaging his back.

"Wow, your back has gotten really strong." El commented as her hands ran over his skin. "That swimming really bulked you up."

"And from what I felt before, all that running made your ass even sexier." he chuckled, humming into her touch.

"You can touch it as much as you want." she whispered seductively into his ear. "Your hands and mine are the only ones allowed to touch it."

"Good." he winked, looking at her out of the corner of his eye.

"And a doctor, should it be required." she added with a grin.

"I love you." he mumbled tiredly, her massage calming him down immensely.

"Love you too." she replied warmly but then noticed that he had fallen asleep.

With a loving smile, she put on his shirt to cover her body down to the knees and went into the bathroom to brush her teeth and use the toilet. After her return, she found him facing the side and got into bed next to him, scooting backwards until her body was flush against his and pulled his arm over her waist, closing her eyes and, now that he was behind her again, she quickly fell asleep.

* * *

"Wow, you've been busy." Marcus looked surprised at the amount of document cases in their office. "Still looking for other subjects?"

"Yeah." Bryan sighed, trying to ignore the pounding headache that always came on when he used his abilities to absorb information.

"Any luck?"

"Found twelve so far but I think that was it." Bryan tapped a folder in front of him. "Half of them are dead though."

"Were they killed or did they die?" Marcus asked.

"As far as the reports go, they died from natural causes." Bryan told him. "Complications from their powers. Their brains couldn't handle the strain when they used them. They could be lying though, but I don't think so."

"You mean complications like your nosebleeds and headaches?" Marcus raised an eyebrow.

"The nosebleeds are a symptom of the strain, yes." Bryan nodded. "My headaches come from the rapid consumption of knowledge, so they're only an indirect result of using my powers."

"I still can't believe the things you can do." Marcus chuckled. "The director was very impressed when he saw you in action."

"Which was a good thing because we got this new, shiny office." Bryan laughed. "Was the brass convinced of our report about the machine?"

"Since they got the wreckage from the Russian base beneath Hawkins and the witness statement from this Doctor Owens, yeah, they believe it." Marcus nodded. "They want a plan as to how we can disrupt the Russian experiments on their side."

"I guess that was to be expected." Bryan shrugged.

"But how are we supposed to do that?" Marcus asked. "Even if they really are in Kamchatka, I doubt we could simply go there by sub and land a strike force."

"I have an idea about that, actually." Bryan said.

"And that would be?"

"We open a gate and go to Russia in that other dimension." Bryan revealed. "The same way this Jim Hopper apparently got there."

"You found out more about him too?"

"Yep." Bryan nodded and tapped another folder. "James Hopper, born in 1942, lived in Hawkins Indiana all his early life. Joined the military in 1960 and sent to Vietnam in 1965 with the first wave. Sent home after getting wounded in the Tet offensive and received an honorable discharge. Returned to New York City where he attended the police academy and became a homicide detective."

"Sounds good." Marcus commented.

"Got married and had a daughter in 1971, who died of cancer in 1978." Bryan continued. "Her death led to him abusing alcohol and anti-anxiety drugs and after his wive divorced him, he returned to Hawkins in 1979 and was named Chief of Police there. Ostensibly died on July 4th, 1985 when he and some others closed the gate under Hawkins, an event that destroyed the Starcourt Mall in Hawkins."

"Speaking of the Starcourt Mall, it seems that the mayor of Hawkins at the time was complicit in allowing the Russians to build it there." Marcus mentioned, handing a folder to Bryan who absorbed the information in a few seconds.

"Interesting." Bryan hummed.

"Turned out the Russians had used a shell company to build it and the mayor knew that they were Russians and building their lab under Hawkins." Marcus continued.

"Has he been arrested?" Bryan asked.

"He's already in jail." Marcus nodded. "He was arrested after the fire, tried and convicted and now serves his sentence in the Terre Haute federal prison."

"Tried for conspiracy against the United States." Bryan gleaned from the information he had absorbed. "He's lucky we're not in a hot war, otherwise he would've been executed."

"I think we need to pay him a visit." Marcus suggested. "He may not have told the investigators everything and you could get everything he held back."

"You're right." Bryan nodded. "Can you make the necessary preparations?"

"Of course." Marcus agreed. "Have you found anything regarding how the gate under Hawkins lab was opened in the first place?"

"I did." Bryan showed him yet another folder. "Turns out, Hawkins lab was run by Doctor Martin Brenner."

"Wait, the same Brenner that was the head of the Narcotic Enforcement Division for almost two decades?" Marcus interjected.

"Apparently." Bryan nodded and handed Marcus a folder. "But that was only a cover for his real purpose."

"Project MKUltra." Marcus read and perused the content. "My god, we did this?"

"That's where he started using drugs for mind control experiments."

"And he used that on kids?" Marcus gasped. "Seriously, that's just vile."

"Tell me about it." Bryan agreed. "I mean, I was experimented on but I agreed to that and they never used drugs on me, not even to try to enhance my abilities. But his first test subjects weren't children. It was grown women. And apparently one of them was pregnant during the experiments and her daughter developed strong powers."

"Terry Ives." Marcus read from an attached report. "Jesus, what did he do to her?"

"They called it electro-convulsive therapy." Bryan scoffed. "Fancy way of saying that they pushed tasers against her head to fry her brain."

"She sued the lab before that?"

"Yes, they covered up the birth of her daughter and she wanted her back. Broke into the lab to get her and then they tortured her until she became a vegetable." Bryan nodded.

"Shit." Marcus gasped. "So wait, if her daughter was number eleven, what about those before, like you?"

"I was raised in a lab in Seattle, along with projects two, three and four, who all came after me." Bryan explained. "Projects five to seven were raised in New Mexico. In Hawkins, Brenner began with subject eight."

"Does he still live?"

"His body was never found." Bryan told him. "So, if he's still alive, he must be in hiding."

"How many Brenner projects are still alive?"

"Apart from Eleven?" Bryan looked at him. "Number Eight lives."

"Was she taken from her mother as well?"

"In a sense." Bryan nodded. "Brenner had her kidnapped from her home."

"Good god." Marcus sighed. "But if this Jane got her powers because her mother was a test subject in drug trials, so to speak, how did this Eight get her powers?"

"Because the drugs they used are also sold on the streets, LSD in particular." Bryan told him. "The mother of number Eight quite possible used drugs too during her pregnancy. But the chance of the fetus actually developing those powers seems to be very, very slim."

"Yeah, otherwise there would be a lot more people with these powers out there." Marcus concurred.

"So, how did he open this gate?"

"He didn't." Bryan replied. "Project Eleven did."

"How?"

"According to their records, she was put into a sensory deprivation tank so she could spy on Russians in the void." Bryan explained.

"Isn't that this place you go to sleep in?"

"Correct. But while she was in there, she also found a monster, the one that the Russians described in their transcripts." Bryan continued. "Brenner ordered her to make contact with the monster and as soon as she did it, the gate opened and one of those monsters came out and grabbed a lab assistant who was close to it."

"Agents Templeton and Boyd?" someone interrupted them.

"Yes?" Bryan looked at the newcomer.

"Your presence is requested in the conference room." the man said and waited for the two follow him.

"What's with all the suits?" Marcus wondered, seeing several men in suits standing along the corridor and in front of the conference room door.

"They're Secret Service." Bryan told him.

"He's waiting." their guide said and opened the door.

"Oh crap." Marcus whispered as they walked into the room and saw the director talking to a second person while several high-ranking military officers stood on the other side of the table.

"Mister Vice President." Bryan greeted the man respectfully, Marcus doing the same.

"Agents." Vice President Bush nodded to them and turned back to the director. "Them?"

"Them." Director Webster nodded. "Have a seat, Agents."

"Sir." Bryan nodded and sat down, the general and the other officers as well.

"So, during yesterday's intelligence briefing, we learned a disturbing thing regarding the Soviet Union." Bush began. "How high is your confidence about this?"

"Very high." Bryan said.

"And have you pinpointed the location of the facility?"

"Yes, sir, it's a prison camp on the Kamchatka Peninsula." Marcus nodded. "Set inside a mountain."

"Sir, a direct strike is out of the question, either by air or ground." the general, whose name tag said Miller, spoke up. "Even if we disguised our soldiers, the Russians would know it was us unless we sent a team consisting solely of Asian Americans."

"But that could probably lead to a large-scale war between China and Russia and I don't doubt they would use their nuclear arsenal as well." another officer interjected.

"Agent Templeton, Director Webster told me that you were working on a plan to infiltrate the facility and destroy this experimental machine that the Russians believe can win them the Cold War." Bush said. "Is that true?"

"Yes, but it's not guaranteed to succeed and it would require the involvement of certain civilians." Bryan nodded.

"Can you tell me the plan?" Bush asked.

"Do you really want to know?" Bryan retorted. "It would negate your possible deniability."

"That's okay." Bush nodded.

"How much do you know already?" Bryan asked. "About the more... hard to believe background information?"

"That the Russians have opened a gate to another dimension that they could use to quickly get soldier or worse anywhere into the US." Bush nodded. "You're right, very hard to believe but I decided to give you the benefit of the doubt, given that the transcripts say as much themselves."

"My plan, as it is right now, is to find the other subjects and get their help in opening a gate and going to the Russian facility to destroy their machine." Bryan told him. "We would use a newly developed weapon designed to, uh... sanitize enclosed spaces, which would also destroy any traces of our involvement."

"That weapon is highly classified." General Miller threw in.

"General, with all due respect, where do I work?" Bryan chuckled.

"Point taken." Miller took it with humor. "But the weapon has barely left its prototype status."

"What weapon is this?" Bush asked the general.

"It's called Project Wood Chipper." General Miller told his superior.

"Wood Chipper?" Bush raised an eyebrow.

"Would you have us call it Project Room Cleaning Bomb?" Miller shrugged.

"Point taken." Bush laughed. "How does it work?"

"It fills a room with a new, airborne fire accelerant." Miller explained. "If the room is connected via air ducts to others, those will be filled as well. When the timer runs out, the bomb explodes, igniting the accelerant and sanitizing the room or rooms. Only a very small amount of this accelerant is needed to completely burn a large room."

"So, it's like Napalm?" Webster asked, reminded of Vietnam.

"Close, but it's more like a gas than a liquid." Miller nodded.

"What are the casualty estimates?" Bush asked, looking at Bryan.

"Since it's a Russian prison inside a mountain and assuming it's full of prisoners, add the scientists, we're looking at an estimated casualties of roughly five thousand." Bryan told him. "That's the worst case scenario in terms of loss of life. Maybe even more, depending on how many prisoners the Russians stuffed in there."

"And there's no other way?" Bush asked.

"Unfortunately not." Bryan sighed. "If we just destroy the machine with C4 or any other explosive, the Russians would just build a new one or it would lead to an even worse situation if they find out that we did it."

"What would stop them from starting the project again anyway?"

"First, if a catastrophic failure happens, a lot of the scientists will be dead as well and they may rethink their approach." Marcus interjected. "Also, we're reasonably certain that the Russian government as a whole doesn't know about this. It seems to be handled internally by the KGB and its military counterpart."

"And, as was pointed out before, the Soviet Union looks like it's about to collapse anyhow in the near future." Bryan added.

"There's one flaw in your plan." General Miller interrupted. "Say you open the gate and can go through it, how will you get to Russia? Are you going to walk?"

"Their American prisoner appears to have done that." Bryan told him. "He apparently went through the gate under Hawkins, Indiana and emerged inside that prison camp in Russia. And I doubt he would have survived for months in that other dimension, given that the lab reports state that its atmosphere slightly toxic and that its also inhabited by dangerous creatures."

"Which means that time and space are apparently different in that other dimension." Marcus added, still not believing he was talking about it as if he knew anything.

"Agent, you have my full blessing to conduct your mission. Director Webster, I want you to make every resource available to him." Bush ordered, getting up, everyone else following his lead as protocol demanded.

"Understood." Webster nodded and watched as the Vice President left. "Well, Agents, looks like you got a blank check. You better get to work."

"Yes, Director." Bryan nodded and left the conference room, Marcus following him.

"So, how far is your plan along?" Marcus asked.

"Barely started." Bryan sighed. "Since I found the living subjects, we need to pay them a visit and recruit them. We also have to wait for the military to finish the prototype of their aerosol bomb before we can make a move."

"Where do you want to open the gate?" Marcus asked.

"I think we should use the gate that was already opened." Bryan told him as they entered their office. "The one under Hawkins lab."

"I thought that it's closed again."

"Yeah, that's why we need the girl who opened it in the first place." Bryan nodded.

"Why would she help us?" Marcus wanted to know. "Given the pain she has experienced thanks to that."

"If we tell her that the man who adopted her is still alive, I think she will jump at the chance." Bryan chuckled sadly.

"What else do we need?"

"I'm going to search the locations of the other subjects, so far I only know where number six is." Bryan said. "You're going to contact a local team that has to scout out the Russian bunker under the lab, to see if we need the Corps of Engineers to clear rubble and for possible later construction."

"Okay." Marcus nodded and sat down at his desk to pick up his phone and dial the number to the CIA post in Indianapolis.

* * *

**No writing for me tomorrow. Once I'm home from work, I'm going to do an Escape Room with my buddies before we indulge in the age old male pastime of eating barbecued meat and drinking a few cold ones :D**

**Review please :)**


	18. Chapter 18

**So, the cold I had gotten has really lain me out. It's a man-cold, so it's worse than breaking a bone anyway :D But seriously, this one hit me like a brick thrown from up high. But what was truly remarkable was the reviews asking for a quick update ^^ So I take a bit longer than a week to publish a new chapter and people become impatient? :D :D :D**

**El Henderson: the Escape room was a lot of fun. We made it in 58:42 ^^**

**But now, enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I write for my own pleasure and that of the readers.**

* * *

"Have you experienced anything regarding the man with the One tattooed on his forearm?" Mike asked when they were walking through Chicago in late afternoon, entering a mall to enjoy the offers it had.

"No, at least I don't think so." El shook her head. "I haven't tried to go into the void since we did it at the pool and as far as I know, nobody's following me."

"As far as you know." Mike remarked, looking around to see if there was anyone acting suspiciously towards them.

"You said it yourself, he was probably a subject himself, so he shouldn't be one of the bad men." El shrugged. "And you were also right when you said that I would drive myself crazy if I see danger everywhere."

"You want some ice cream?" he smiled down at her.

"Yes." she grinned back.

Mike led them to the ice cream stand and bought two cones, handing one to El and keeping the other, both eating it while they walked through the mall. Mike felt somewhat uncomfortable with so many people around them, thinking that there could be people in the crowd that may know about El and want to do her arm.

While he had counseled her to not think too much about this, he himself couldn't stop doing it himself. El was his life, his reason for living and the thought of losing her was something he couldn't even contemplate. If El died, Mike wasn't even sure if he could go on living, knowing that he would never find another woman he could love like he loved her.

"Well, well, well, if it ain't Shirley Temple again." a familiar voice gave the equally familiar snarky greeting.

"Axel." El chuckled and hugged the man.

"Little bird." Funshine enveloped her as well before Dottie and Mick did.

"Is Kali here?" El asked.

"Of course." Kali nodded, suddenly appearing next to her.

"That still so cool." Mike gasped.

"El, could you by chance help us find some more of the bad men?" Kali whispered to her as she pulled her to the side.

"I don't really want to." El shook her head. "Can't find them on your own anymore?"

"Since you left, we haven't found any." Kali sighed. "It's as if they have disappeared."

"Maybe you killed them all?" El suggested.

"No, there were a lot more than the eight we have killed." Kali shook her head this time.

"Have you maybe checked the prisons?" El shrugged. "Maybe justice caught up with them."

"There's only one justice they deserve." Kali growled.

"Sister, you should let go of your anger." El tried to counsel her. "I found love and I've never been more happy. You could be too."

"Don't give me that." Kali shrugged her off. "I can't forget the pain and suffering these people put us through."

"You shouldn't, but you can use that knowledge to be stronger and not let yourself fall into that circle of revenge." El sighed. "Lets say you manage to find all of these people and you kill them all. Every single one of them? What then?"

"Then I can finally live my life." Kali stated.

"Could you?" El looked at her. "You'd still be on the run because you killed god knows how many people."

"They would have to find us first." Kali argued. "We're good at hiding."

"You mean like the time we had to flee because the cops swarmed your hideout?" El retorted. "I think they can find you if they want to."

"Jane, we chose this life." Kali sighed. "And I doubt we can ever escape it again."

"That makes me sad for you." El said sincerely. "I still hope you can find peace."

"Thank you." Kali nodded and hugged El. "You should go back to your boyfriend."

El took Mike's hand and turned around to wave at Kali and her friends but as was to be expected, the entire group had disappeared, Kali using her powers to allow them to walk out undetected. El imagined having stayed with them instead of returning to Hawkins, thinking that by now, everyone would be dead.

Mike and her other friends would have been the first to die if the Mind Flayer had managed to come through the gate and then its powers would have radiated out and she was pretty sure that at this point, everyone on Earth would have been killed or enslaved by that creature. El tried to forget the image of its tentacle reaching out to her through the gate or the monster that had housed part of its consciousness almost eating her.

She still had nightmares about these things, except for when she was with Mike. A lot of nights, when she and Mike talked long hours, the nightmares often didn't come until the early morning, so when she was woken by them, she could get up to have breakfast anyway.

"How did your midterms go?" Mike asked.

"I think they went very well." she shrugged. "I decided not to think too much about them, I saw some of my classmates really psych themselves out thinking that they did something wrong."

"Yeah, you should have seen Dustin, when I told him that I had a different result in a certain math problem." Mike chuckled. "I thought his head would explode the way he worked himself up to a full panic."

"I can see that." El grinned but got a bit morose again. "I miss being there with all of you."

"We miss you too." Mike smiled sadly. "Especially me."

"Tell me about it." El sighed. "Just being with you makes me happier than any A in school can. And when we have sex, it's as if I'm whole again."

"I feel the same way." he nodded. "I feel as if the sun isn't shining as bright when you're not around."

"God, we're sappy." El suddenly laughed, Mike joining in. "Wanna watch a movie?"

"Sure." Mike nodded and both made a beeline to the mall theater.

"Can we watch this comedy?" El pointed to the poster of the movie Fletch Lives with Chevy Chase.

"Why not." he agreed and paid for their tickets while El got some popcorn and sodas for them.

While the movie did have some funny scenes, El felt more disappointed than entertained afterwards. On their way out of the theater, she heard another couple talking about the first part being better, so at least now she had the reason for why she was so lost during the movie, given that she had never seen the predecessor of this one.

"That was a disappointment." Mike remarked as they walked out of the mall. "Very confusing in part."

"I agree." El nodded. "Did you see the first part?"

"There was a first part?"

"Yes, I heard another couple talking that this one was not as good as the first movie." she confirmed.

"Never knew that." he chuckled. "Next time, we watch something else."

"Yeah, when I come back to Hawkins again during summer break, you can choose the movie." she grinned.

"Oh, I already know one movie we'll be watching." he winked at her.

"What?"

"The second Ghostbusters movie is released on June 16th." he almost hopped in anticipation.

"Well, the first one was good." El admitted.

"By the way, did Joyce give us a curfew?" Mike asked, looking at his watch.

"She didn't say anything, why?" she wondered.

"Because it's almost nine-thirty and I don't think she wants us to stay out for long." he shrugged.

"Right, we should head back." she agreed. "And then we could maybe try this sixty-nine I read about?"

"How does that work?" he wanted to know, not having read anything about it himself.

"Well, remember when you pulled me on your head and... you know, licked me?" she breathed harder already just thinking about it. "And after that, I used my mouth on your penis?"

"Yes." he smiled at the memory.

"Sixty-nine is us doing it to each other at the same time." she explained. "I just sit down on your mouth again but turned around, so I can bend forward to pleasure you at the same time."

"That sounds... very enticing." Mike could feel his excitement in his pants, the blood leaving his head brain to go down to his secondary brain, making it hard to think straight.

"Why are you walking faster now?" El grinned, feeling his pull.

"Because we need to get home, now!" Mike groaned.

"You realize that the L-train won't any leave earlier, right?" she giggled.

"God!" Mike cursed. "You're so mean, turning me on like that."

"But I didn't do anything." she pouted innocently, pressing her arms against her sides.

"Jesus, you're sexy." he sighed at the image of her pushing her chest together to make her breasts look bigger in her tight shirt.

"If everyone's asleep when we get home, we can start right away." she whispered into his ear. "Otherwise, we may have to wait a bit."

"Why?" Mike was confused. "They know we have sex already."

"But I don't want to rub it into their faces, so to speak." El told him. "Joyce is nice enough to allow it but if she forbids it, I don't want to ignore her orders since she was nice enough to have taken me in after dad's death."

"I understand." Mike nodded and hugged her tightly to comfort her over Jim's death.

Despite what Jim had done to them, he missed the chief. For all his faults, he had always been on their side, first saving them from the bad men when they had been hiding in the bus on the junkyard and then going into the Upside Down to save Will. And of course, as mad as Mike had been at him that he had hidden El away from him for a year, he was very thankful that he had given her shelter and food.

His reverie was interrupted by the arriving train. El pulled him onto it and sat down on his lap after he had sat down, leaving one more space free for someone else to sit down. El noticed a gang entering the train as well and when she saw the leader look at her and Mike and take a step towards them, she concentrated hard and made him slip, the guy breaking his ankle with a snap and screaming in pain. She felt bad for a moment but only a little, her relief that he wasn't thinking about doing something to her or Mike or anyone else on the train stronger.

Twenty minutes later, they entered the house, finding Joyce on the couch while Will was in his room. They joined her, watching the end of the movie she had been watching and when she bid her good night, El and Mike retreated into her room as well to get ready for bed.

* * *

"Incredible as always, Doctor Harper." came the gushing squeal of one of the younger nurses.

"Thank you." he nodded, smiling a bit and shaking his head at her blatantly obvious attempt to make him notice her tight clothes. "Just doing my job."

"But how did you do it?" the nurse, he was sure her name was Stephanie, continued. "All the other doctors had been adamant that it was a simple migraine. Without you, the young man might be dead right now from the stroke he suffered."

"By looking at the signs, as always." he shrugged, trying to get her to back off since he couldn't very well tell her the real reason. "I'm sure you have better things to do than talking to an old man like me, so I'm letting you go enjoy your evening now."

"You're not that old, doctor Harper." Stephanie smiled coyly.

"I'm twice as old as you." he smiled and left her alone to get a shower and then change into his regular clothing.

Brandon sighed as he stood under the spray, the dark 006 on his arm in stark contrast to his light skin tone. It hadn't been that many years ago when he had enjoyed the attention he got for his ability to diagnose any disease just by touching patients without ever getting sick himself, having quite the number of young, eager nurses sharing his bed at night after they had thrown themselves at him, though none of them knew the real reason for his always correct diagnoses.

Unfortunately, those relationships couldn't work out. Having to explain his tattoo was one thing but he was too honest to not tell his life partner about what he could do, and he was always afraid that his nice, cozy life would then be over because every sick person in the world would want him to diagnose them. And the last thing he wanted to do was leave his home and his pets.

He remembered the first time his powers had manifested. During his childhood, a friend of his had fallen from his bike and broken his leg, with the bone even sticking out. And when Brandon had tried to console him by touching his friend's thigh while wishing he could make it better, the bone had pulled itself back into the leg, then had grown back together and the leg wound had closed.

His friend had fallen unconscious from the pain of that healing and after it was done, Brandon had collapsed and almost died from the exertion. When they had been found by their parents, Brandon had been covered in blood that had come from his nose and ears while his friend had been crying over his body, everybody thinking that it had been Brandon himself who had had the accident. Luckily, they had been able to save him with a nutrient IV to replenish the energy he had used when he had healed his friend.

It took one day after his release from the hospital for the people from the lab to show up. The director had introduced himself and told his parents that they were offering programs for special children with powers and that Brandon was one of them. After they were told about the conditions, Brandon had agreed, wanting to learn about what he could do and how he could become better.

He had been in the lab with two more children. For administrative purposes, and to help the rotating nurses to recognize them, they were tattooed with numbers, one of them with a 005, himself with the 006 he still has today and the third child had gotten the 007. They had often laughed about that, calling him James Bond but unfortunately, after three months, the young boy had died when he was training to use his powers.

Back then, Brandon hadn't understood what had happened. One moment, the boy was floating a gallon of water through the air without any container holding it, the next, the room he had been in was flooded from floor to ceiling, the door mechanism malfunctioning from the pressure and locking everybody out and the poor child in.

Brandon still had nightmares about that day. He had run up to the door and watched his friend die, the panic in his eyes as his lungs began burning from the lack of air and the short but painful asphyxiation he had suffered once he had been unable hold his breath anymore, all the while the people from the lab had tried to smash the door open.

It had only been years alter that he had learned what the exact powers of that child had been. Matter duplication and translocation. Fancy words for his ability to make more of things and teleport it around. He had taken a gallon of water and duplicated it again and again, but unable to stop until the room had been full.

That had been the day he had promised that he would use his powers to help people. He began training more and more but every time he had healed someone who had something worse than a scratch, it almost killed him from the strain. But during his training, he had also learned that he was able to diagnose any disease or injury and he had become determined to increase his skill in that area, since treating someone became easier when doctors knew exactly what the patient was suffering from.

He turned off the faucet and dried himself off before heading back into the changing room, packing away his coat and donning his sweater. Today had been a hard day. Among other things, he had diagnosed a stroke on a twenty-two year old, breast cancer on a thirty-four year old mother and, to the secret mirth of everyone involved, found out that a teenager with groin pain had shoved a foreign object up his urethra for sexual pleasure.

"Doctor Harper?" two men approached him after he had exited the hospital, both wearing suits and looking serious.

"Yes?" Brandon looked at them.

"My name is Bryan Templeton, I'm a CIA agent." the left one introduced himself and showed his badge, the second one mirroring the gesture. "This is agent Boyd."

"How can I help you?" Brandon asked.

"We need to talk." Bryan smiled and led him to his car, opening the passenger door for him.

"Where are we going?" Brandon asked, about to buckle up. "Am I in trouble?"

"We're going nowhere, this is just so we aren't disturbed." Bryan told him, Brandon realizing that the second agent had stayed outside. "And no, you're not in trouble."

"Alright, how can I help?" Brandon repeated.

"Before I talk, I need to tell you that what you're about to hear is considered national security and therefore highly classified. If you tell someone about it, you will be subject to treason charges." Bryan looked sharply at him.

"Understood." Brandon was intrigued.

"We need your help." Bryan opened up.

"Doesn't the CIA have their own doctors?" Brandon wondered.

"Not that kind of help, at least not the way you think." Bryan said and rolled up his left sleeve, showing him his tattoo.

"I see." Brandon nodded, showing the man his own tattoo. "Are you aware what my powers are?"

"Yes, you can diagnose diseases and heal people." Bryan nodded.

"So, what kind of help can I offer?"

"In a few weeks, we're going to undertake a mission to stop the Russians from doing something very dangerous for our country." Bryan told him. "I'm in the process of gathering more people like us to do it. The mission is supported by the highest authorities but if something goes wrong, they will disavow any knowledge of us."

"So we will all be going to Russia then." Brandon stated, accepting the mission, even though he didn't look forward to leaving his home.

"It looks that way right now." Bryan nodded. "Though the way we get there still might change later. And don't worry, we would take care of your animals."

"So, where are we going now?" Brandon asked, feeling relieved that the man knew about his pets.

"You stay right where you are." Bryan told him. "When the time comes, we will contact you with a location and date to meet with us and we will present the plan then."

"Agent, what exactly could my role be?" Brandon wanted to know. "Given your tattoo, and since you know about my abilities, you should realize that my primary power is diagnostics."

"And healing." Bryan said.

"Yes, but healing something serious in another almost kills me." Brandon revealed. "The first time I did it, I almost died."

"Weren't you a child back then?"

"True, but it hasn't become much better." Brandon sighed.

"I think you don't give yourself enough credit." Bryan smiled and suddenly grabbed Brandon's left hand with his right, producing a switchblade in his other and cutting a long and deep gash into the doctor's palm.

"OW!" Brandon yelled in pain. "Are you insane?"

"Watch." Bryan still smiled and pointed to the injured palm which began healing right away until there was only the blood left that had come out of the wound.

"Whoa." Brandon looked surprised as he wiped the blood away, revealing pristine skin.

"See?" Bryan chuckled. "You can heal better than you think, you keep yourself whole and healthy all the time. How do you feel now?"

"I feel like I should lie down a few minutes and I also feel like I want to punch you for cutting me." Brandon grumbled.

"You should train yourself." Bryan advised. "Although we hope that our mission to Russia will be without injuries, you may wanna prepare to quickly heal gunshot wounds."

"Great." Brandon sighed and opened the passenger door, handing Bryan a card. "Listen, when you're ready for this meeting you've planned, call me. I'll be there."

"Thanks." Bryan nodded, taking the card and waited until the doctor had left while Marcus took his place in the passenger seat.

"So?" his friend and colleague asked.

"He's in." Bryan stated and started their car.

"So, what about the others?" Marcus wanted to know.

"Eight and Eleven are both in Chicago, though Eight is a little hard to pinpoint, since she's off the grid." Bryan replied. "The twins are a little more difficult to pinpoint. They seem to move around quite a bit."

"On the run?" Marcus suggested.

"More like carnies." Bryan corrected him. "Given their powers, I'm sure they are a sensation wherever they end up. And since it's spring, the carny folk are away from their winter quarters again."

"Do we know which carnival troop they're a part of?" Marcus asked.

"No, we just have to wait for one to show up and see if they have twins that can carry cars around and do mind tricks with the audience." Bryan chuckled.

"Why not go to Chicago now to recruit this Eleven?"

"She's the last one I want to get to." Bryan told him. "If we're telling her that her adoptive father is still alive in a Russian prison, she might try to get there alone or do something that could tip the Russians off."

"Okay." Marcus accepted. "But we know where she is?"

"She's under observation, yes." Bryan nodded. "Currently, her boyfriend is visiting her."

"Does he know about her powers and past?"

"Given that he was the one hiding her from Brenner after her escape and that he was also part of the group who stopped the Russians, I'd say yes." Bryan chuckled.

"We may have to recruit that group too then." Marcus said. "I mean, if we want to keep knowledge of this otherworldly stuff contained to as few people as possible, I wouldn't want to bring in more agents."

"My thoughts exactly." Bryan agreed. "We may have to offer them a bit more than what someone working for us gets paid, though."

"That's what our budget is for." Marcus laughed.

"By the way, how does the work under the lab in Hawkins go?" Bryan wanted to know.

"The workers cleared the rubble." Marcus told him. "They're fixing the gantries as well."

"Did they see the gate?"

"They see the wall where it was and know that they're not supposed to fix it." Marcus said. "They have no idea why though but they're following orders."

"Good."

"By the way, that gate seemed to have been two hundred feet high." Marcus added.

"What?" Bryan gasped. "How? According to the logs, the gate she opened was maybe twelve feet high."

"According to Doctor Owens' testimony, the gate grew during the time he was there." Marcus explained. "They had to dig a shaft down into the earth where this entity from that other dimension spread tendrils out like vines of a root."

"Shit." Bryan wanted to push his head onto the steering wheel. "I hope when the time comes, this Eleven can open the smaller version of the gate."

"So, where to now?" Marcus asked.

"Back to HQ." Bryan shrugged. "Still need to find the right carnival and this Kali Prasad. Hard to do when she's off the grid and apparently can conceal her presence from prying eyes."

"So, how are you going to recruit her if she can essentially disappear at will?"

"By finding out where she is, blocking every exit from the building she's in and simply talk to the room if I don't see her." Bryan shrugged.

"How will you know she's in there at all?"

"Because no matter if I can see her or not, I will be able to hear her." Bryan smiled. "Nobody can't stop thinking, especially when under stress."

"Even after knowing you for five years, I still can't get over the fact that you can hear people's thoughts." Marcus shuddered.

"Only if they talk in their heads, so please think in pictures." Bryan winced when Marcus involuntarily screamed in his head.

"Got it." Marcus laughed. "Though I feel sympathy for you."

"Why?"

"You'll probably never find a woman to spend the rest of your life with."Marcus surmised.

"Because she can't lie to me?" Bryan looked at his friend with humor.

"Of course." Marcus smirked. "I'm pretty sure my wife tells a few white lies once in a while. Hell, I do it to my wife. But it's another thing when your wife tells you something but thinks something else."

"True." Bryan admitted. "Though I haven't been really looking."

"Yeah, I imagine going out is torture for you." Marcus nodded.

"Tell me about it." Bryan groaned. "Going to a movie theater is like sitting in a room with five hundred people all talking at the same time but never finishing a sentence."

"I need to ask, how far does this ability of yours work?" Marcus wanted to know. "Can you hear people think through walls? I know you go into that void space to sleep."

"I don't go there, I move my consciousness there." Bryan corrected him.

"Whatever." Bryan waved him off. "Why would you do that if you can't hear people through walls."

"Well, if I see the person, I can hear them." Bryan explained. "If I can't see them, I still can hear them and if there's a wall between us, I still hear it muffled. Like a background noise."

"You ever thought of moving to a house then?" Marcus wondered. "An apartment building like yours must be hell."

"Affording a house on a CIA agent's salary while being single?" Bryan laughed. "What comes next, me driving a Porsche?"

"Why not?" Marcus laughed as well. "Coming to Langley in style."

"Seriously though, the last thing I want is to draw attention to me." Bryan chuckled.

Marcus looked at his notes while Bryan drove them back to the airport. Finding three of the four remaining subjects will probably the toughest thing for them to do. Apart from convincing them to help. Or going to Russia to destroy a machine. Without the Russians knowing they did it. And without dying while trying.

* * *

**Feeling a bit better now. Still got coughing fits and some remaining blockage in my nose but at least the pressure in my head is gone. And I got two weeks vacation now :D**

**Review please :)**


	19. Chapter 19

**Ordered a new computer last week. Got the email that it was out of the testing phase and will soon be sent to me. But to prove that karma is a bitch, now I need a root canal operation -.-**

**Flyingtuna: I knew I was spoiling you too much when I updated that quickly :D**

**El Henderson: well, how can you enjoy the vacation properly when you need a dental operation. Went grocery shop for my grandma today and a friend of mine who works at the checkout asked me why I wouldn't do that dental stuff when I was out of the vacation to maybe get a sick certificate ^^**

**Guest: If I stopped the stories, I would tell you in the last author's note. Unless I suddenly died, of course, which I hope I won't for another few decades.**

**Other Guest: content might take more than a few days sometimes ;) A few months ago, I subscribed to a couple of Stranger Things stories and since then, there wasn't an update to any of those, so stop complaining :D :D :D**

**But now, enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I write for my own pleasure and that of the readers.**

* * *

"Best movie of them all so far." Will stated, Mike nodding.

"Agreed." Mike added. "While the first one was more like a test run, this one was made great by Ricardo Montalban's performance."

"I'm sad that Spock died." El mentioned. "Though at least he died a hero."

"With one of the more well-known quotes from Star Trek." Mike smiled.

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." Will quoted. "Though I don't think I could do that."

"Do what?" El asked, sitting up and disentangling herself from Mike's grasp.

"Sacrifice myself for others." Will shrugged. "My sense of self-preservation would kick in hard."

"Mike would do it." El stated.

"How do you know?" Will wondered.

"Because he jumped from the cliff into the quarry to save Dustin who was threatened with a knife by Troy." El told him.

"Seriously?" Will gasped. "Why have you never told me this?"

"At the time, you were missing." Mike shrugged. "And afterwards, I didn't want to bother you with this, since you had enough on your mind."

"How did you survive?" Will asked.

"El pulled me up with her powers." Mike shrugged. "Then she broke Troy's arm."

"Nice." Will laughed and gave El a high five. "So, wanna watch the third movie too?"

"How many are there?" El wondered.

"So far, four." Will told her. "The fifth is going to be released soon in theaters."

"It was directed by William Shatner himself." Mike said giddily. "It must be good."

"We'll see." Will smiled. "If we time our visit to Hawkins right, we can watch it together."

"Of course." Mike nodded. "So, are we going to watch the next now?"

"It's almost eleven, you really wanna watch another movie?" El asked them.

"You're right, when the time is you, we shouldn't start another movie." Mike nodded.

"When the time is me?" El looked at him confused before understanding. "Ha ha, very funny."

"You like it." he grinned, looking at her deadpan expression.

"Pff." she waved him off and climbed off of the lay-z-boy, Mike also standing up.

Will hurried into the bathroom first, brushing his teeth to give Mike and El room to wash up and also clean their teeth. Mike went first, getting in a quick shower before brushing his teeth, El taking his place in the bathtub while he did that. When El began brushing her teeth, he walked into their bedroom, pulling back the duvet and climbing into bed.

"So." a returning El spoke up, Mike seeing her wear one of his shirts, the material going down to her thighs. "You ready?"

"Ready." he nodded and watched in awe as she took off the shirt, revealing her glorious nakedness. "You're so beautiful."

"Take off your clothes." she prompted him, standing next to the bed, smiling when he hurried to follow her order.

"So, how does it work?" he asked as he dropped his shorts, giving her a good look at his already hardening manhood.

"I sit on your face like I did on Christmas, just with my back to you instead of the other way around." she explained. "Then I bend forward and can take your penis into my mouth while you pleasure me with your tongue."

"Okay." he nodded vigorously and laid back, watching as she put one leg on the bed and swung her other over his head, giving him an amazing look at her folds.

"Now, I'm gonna... OH!" El started to say but could only gasp when Mike grabbed her hips and pulled her down, his tongue connecting with her folds and pushing past them, eager to taste her again. "OH! Oh Mike!"

El realized that it felt very different from when she sat on his face the other way around but back then, he had concentrated more on her clit since it had been in easier reach of his tongue. But with this angle, his tongue moved between her folds, deep into her and it felt similar to when he did that when they were at the pool.

Wanting him deeper, she let her body weight drop on him, feeling him going even deeper and she gasped in pleasure, trying to keep her moaning to a minimum to avoid Will or Joyce from hearing them. Her hands went to her breasts, rubbing over her nipples as she felt a climax approach, Mike's tongue doing magic to her insides.

"Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!" she cursed, her hips beginning to undulate, rocking back and forth until she began shaking, Mike grabbing her harder to prevent her from separating her vagina from his mouth.

"Um... El?" he asked after she had calmed down, pushing her slightly off of him.

"What is it?" she panted, turning her head.

"Didn't you say that sixty-nine was us pleasuring each other at the same time?" he grinned.

"Sorry." she apologized, realizing that she hadn't done her part yet.

She pushed herself back down, his tongue again going inside her, making her moan more. This time, she bent forward towards his erect manhood, taking it into her hand and giving a few strokes before running her tongue along the shaft from the base to the tip, letting it swirl around the top before wrapping her lips around it.

She more felt than heard Mike groan, the vibrations from his throat translating through his tongue into her insides, making her flutter. His approving groan gave her the courage to go lower, taking more of his penis into her mouth while keeping up the movements of her tongue. She felt his hips move up, trying to get more of his manhood into her mouth but she moved with him, not daring to try that yet.

Ever since the first time she had blown him, she hadn't dared taking him completely into her mouth, not after she had almost vomited. This time, she decided to find out how much she could take in before the gagging reflex kicked in and with every slow bob of her head, she took him deeper, a fraction at a time.

Meanwhile, Mike gave back what he was feeling, letting his tongue move rapidly inside her. To him, she tasted like heaven, knowing that her arousal came from his actions. He had no idea if his skill was actually good, since there was no way to compare it to anything, but El's reaction encouraged him to keep doing what he was doing. Suddenly, El released him, sitting back up and beginning to undulate her hips again.

"Mike!" she squealed. "I'm coming again!"

Hearing that, Mike increased his efforts once more, rapidly moving his tongue until she began shaking again. Wrapping his arms around her waist to prevent her from getting up, he kept licking her, pulling his tongue out to caress her clit with it for a bit before dipping it back in, wanting to continue to taste her. El kept her hips moving, panting hard and demanding friction but Mike felt a bit neglected and suddenly, El felt one of his hands on the back of her head, pushing her down again.

Grinning at his eagerness, she wrapped her lips around his cock again, taking him in deeper this time. She began bobbing her head once more, getting deeper and deeper until her lips reached the base of his manhood. She never stayed long enough to cause a gag reflex, her head bobbing too fast but what she couldn't stop was the slurping noise that began and Mike felt his cock tightening, feeling and hearing what she was doing and in his mind's eye imagining how it looked.

"Oh my god, El!" Mike groaned loudly. "If you keep doing that, I will come!"

Hearing that, El increased the speed with which she was blowing him. She could feel Mike pulling back, as if he was trying to push his hips into the mattress. By now, she knew enough to know that he was trying not to climax and she increased her efforts even more, simply moving down with him, feeling him beginning to pulsate, while Mike gave out almost pained groans from under her. But despite his best efforts, he couldn't stop himself from coming.

"El!" he gasped and exploded into her mouth.

When she felt his hot spill spread into her mouth and land on her tongue, she regretted her decision to taste him. When Max had told her that Lucas' had tasted vile, she didn't quite believe her, unwilling to accept that it could be so bad, so she had decided a while ago to bring him to climax orally and let him do it into her mouth.

To avoid what happened that other time, when he spread it all over her face, she kept her mouth on him, waiting for him to finish while trying not to swallow. Mike kept groaning, his hips still moving up and down and she still felt him pulsate, another drop escaping every time. It took almost twenty seconds before his hips finally slumped down, his relieved moan telling her that he was finished.

"What's wrong?" he asked when she jumped up, grabbing an empty glass and spitting into it.

"Ugh, that really does taste vile." she commented, quickly rinsing her mouth with a sip of water and donning his shirt again so she could leave her bedroom to go to the bathroom.

She poured out the sticky mass and washed out the glass while rinsing her mouth further. She thought about how Mike would continue licking her when she climaxed, even going so far as to stop her from moving away and to test it, she pushed her index finger between her folds and tasted it herself. She winced at the salty and tangy taste, wondering how he could find that so appealing as to keep pleasuring her like he did.

"Feeling better?" he grinned, having put on his pajama shorts again.

"Yes." she nodded and joined him in bed. " Can I ask you something?"

"Of course." he nodded and wrapped her arms around her.

"How do I taste for you?" she wanted to know.

"Heavenly." he smiled dreamily.

"Really?" she was surprised at his choice of word. "I tasted myself and I thought it very... salty."

"I know." he winked. "But since it's me causing this arousal, it tastes great."

"If you say so." she shrugged.

"Why do you ask?" he inquired.

"Max told me that she made Lucas come with her mouth and it tasted vile, so I got curious." she told him. "And now that I tasted you, I have to agree with her."

"Does that mean that you will never make me come with your mouth again?" he looked disappointed.

"Well, I was more inclined to simply get you off with my pussy." she winked. "Your little friend down there seems to like her very much."

"He does." Mike laughed.

"But, to reassure you, I will make you come with my mouth again." she promised. "I just won't let it get into my mouth."

"That's acceptable." he chuckled.

"Why, thank you." she smirked and gave a theatrical huff. "I'm so glad you will allow that."

"Aren't you a young Miss Sarcasm." he kept chuckling, dropping a kiss on her cheeks.

"If I was Max, I'd punish you by now." she moped.

"And how does Max punish Lucas?" he was interested to know.

"She either withholds sex after turning him on or she makes him pleasure her more than he thinks he can." she told him. "It's usually the first."

"Wow, that's mean." he laughed. "I remember some of the really hard erections I had just watching you change."

"I know." she grinned and felt his hand moving up her shirt, slowly caressing her lower regions before moving up further until it rested on her left breast. "What are you doing?"

"Buttering you up." he hummed, pulling her shirt up as far as he could, El lifting her hips so he could get it past her breasts.

"What for?" she wanted to know, while his lips descended on her left nipple, making her shiver and goosebumps appear on her skin. "Mh, that feels good."

"I don't want you to punish me the way Max does to Lucas." he chuckled and sucked on her nipple, making her hiss. "At least not the first way."

"So you'd be willing to be punished with me demanding you to pleasure me?" she smiled evilly.

"Yeah." he smiled. "Sounds very enticing."

"Well then." she giggled and put her hands on his head, pushing him downward. "Get down there and don't stop until I tell you to."

"Your wish is my command, milady." he nodded serious and moved down, spreading her legs and pressing her mouth on her vagina again.

She didn't tell him to stop for an entire hour before he suddenly did herself. but before she could joke about him violating her order, he kissed his way up her body until he reached her lips. And before she knew it, he entered her, after which any words of protest died in her throat while her body welcomed his penis and began moving in harmony with his.

* * *

"What a view." Mike gasped, looking around.

"Yeah." El nodded. "I've never been up here since we moved."

"Really, never?"

"Mike, why would I come up here?" she smiled.

"Right." he accepted and gazed around.

The last five days, they had done a sightseeing tour through Chicago, visiting places like the Cultural Center, the Lincoln Zoo, the Field Museum, walking along the Magnificent Mile and of course, what they did today, going to the observation deck of the Sears tower, which gave them the view of Chicago that they enjoyed right now.

Since this morning, El had felt the gloom return, the knowledge that Nancy and Jonathan would return from their vacation tomorrow putting a damper on her mood. She knew that Jonathan would drive from Buffalo to Chicago, leaving Nancy refreshed for her drive back to Hawkins, which meant that they didn't have another night after their return.

Mike felt her sadness and shared it, hugging her tightly whenever possible, trying to convey to her that he felt the same but that they would get over their separation like they did from Christmas to Easter. He couldn't wait until he was eighteen, even if that was still almost three years away but then, he would be free to move and live either near or even with El, but only if she wanted to, of course.

"Mike?" she spoke quietly.

"Yeah?" he sighed.

"I don't want you to leave."

"I don't want to go." he agreed. "But unfortunately, I'm not old enough to live on my own or away from my parents."

"You need to be eighteen for that, right?" she asked.

"Unless they kicked me out, yeah." he nodded. "If they kicked me out, I'd still need a legal guardian."

"Do you ever imagine us living together?" she asked.

"Of course." he replied. "Almost every day. Thinking about waking up next to you every day, have breakfast, leave for school or our jobs, talking on the couch and at night, falling asleep with you in my arms."

"Me too." she sighed. "So we'll have to wait at least almost three years until that can become a reality."

"Yeah." he nodded again. "And that assumes we'll find colleges or jobs in the same city."

"I think we would be able to do that." she smiled.

"Can I ask you something?" he thought of something he had forgotten before. "What is Joyce doing in her job? I never really understood."

"She's working in sales." El told him. "Not in a store like she did before but she's sitting in an office and selling meat products, I think, over the phone."

"Nice." he nodded impressed.

"Do you know that Jonathan and Nancy will move in together next year?" she asked.

"No!" he gasped. "She didn't tell me any of this. Is Nancy moving here?"

"I think so." she shrugged. "Jonathan has found a job as a photographer for the Chicago Tribune."

"I know that Nancy wants to go to college to study journalism." Mike said. "Though she's hoping that her next job won't involve her male coworkers denigrating her and then melting and combining to form a monster."

"The second part is always a bonus." El laughed, a bit sad, remembering the crisis that had included people melting and had ended with her adoptive father sacrificing himself to save them all.

She knew that Joyce was still not over the fact that she had been the one being forced to kill Jim. El didn't blame her, she had gotten to know Hopper well enough to know that for all his gruffness, he wouldn't have hesitated to give his own life if it meant saving the people he loved. At the beginning of their life in Chicago, El had sometimes heard Joyce cry at night and El's heart had broken with her, reminding her of his absence.

"Come on, we should head back soon." Mike prompted her. "Will wants to watch the next two Star Trek movies."

"Alright." she nodded and joined him on the way to the elevator.

As they entered the lift, she noticed another couple joining them on the way down and for some reason, she felt as if she had seen the two before. The couple seemed almost to purposefully not look at them but other than that, she didn't feel any sort of threat coming from them. Blaming it on her paranoia that was left over from her experience with the strange man in the void, she ignored them and once the elevator had reached the ground floor, she took Mike's hand again and both walked out of the building.

The couple entered the train with them, not a weird occurrence but they left a station before El and Mike's destination, calming her. Unbeknownst to her, that couple reported back to their handler that their observation target was fine, her boyfriend as well. The agents had no idea why they had to watch that girl, and the boy for as long as he was here as well as her family, and make sure nothing happened to them but orders were orders, especially when they came signed by the director himself.

El and Mike were completely ignorant of that, so they walked home without a care. Joyce greeted them with a smile and an almost finished dinner, deciding on doing a barbecue in the backyard with some of the meat her company sold. Will stood in the kitchen, stirring a large bowl of potato salad to mix it properly, Mike helping him with other types of salads in smaller bowls.

"So, you guys set for tomorrow?" Joyce asked as they ate.

"No." Mike sighed. "I don't want to be apart from her."

"I don't want him to leave either." El said morosely.

"I know." Joyce nodded. "But you guys can deal with it, I know you can."

"It's not as if we have a choice, do we?" El looked at her with a smirk.

"No, I won't let you go with him." Joyce shook her head. "I doubt Mike's mom would agree to let you life with them."

"Have you asked?" El plodded on.

"Jane, I know you are hurting but please, don't make this harder than it will already be for you." Joyce pleaded.

"You guys should know, absence makes the heart grow fonder." Will tried to joke.

"Ugh, shut up." Mike couldn't help but chuckle. "Just wait until you have to separate from your boyfriend."

"You know?" Will gasped. "How?"

"El told me." Mike shrugged.

"How do you know?" Will turned to his adoptive sister.

"Mom told me." El shrugged this time.

"And how do you know?" Will turned to his mother.

"Please, I'm your mom." Joyce smirked at him. "You really think I wouldn't notice?"

"Are you...?" Will hesitated.

"Why wouldn't I?" Joyce nodded. "You're my son and I love you. Why would it matter to me who you love?"

"Some parent's aren't that understanding." Mike interjected. "Max's stepdad for one, he doesn't accept Lucas."

"Because he's a racist." Joyce shrugged. "Though that implies that he's homophobic too too."

"How so?" El wanted to know.

"I have yet to find anyone who's an overt racist who doesn't also have a problem with gay people." Joyce said. "In my experience, those two things go hand in hand."

"I think that's sad." El said. "Why would these people care what others are doing?"

"This is the problem with some people." Joyce explained. "They want to get their way."

"Would people like that accept me?" El wondered.

"You're a white woman who's not gay, so yes, of course." Joyce said. "But if you're asking if they'd accept your powers, then probably not because they would be afraid of what you could do."

After finishing the barbecue and helping clean the table, the children made themselves comfortable on the couch. Will put in the third Star Trek movie, El learning that Spock had somehow survived after all and watched as the crew of the Enterprise brought him back to life. Another thing she took from the movie was that friends would go to extreme lengths to be there for each other, even if it meant, in the movie's case, going against orders from their superiors and accepting the consequences.

The fourth movie was, in her mind, quality-wise, a lot better than the third. A gigantic space probe was broadcasting a signal to Earth and just by being there, was causing severe natural disasters, just because it was looking for an answer from whales. In her eyes, the movie conveyed an environmental message, a warning to humans not to wipe out species because of greed or whatever other reason.

Also, the movie was more lighthearted in its humor than the preceding ones. From Spock's behavior, like him simply jumping into the pool with the whales to talk to them and Scotty trying to talk to a computer through its mouse, it had quite a few laughs despite the more serious subject matter.

"I must say, the even-numbered movies were better than the uneven-numbered ones." El stated after Will pulled the tape out of the VCR.

"Come to think of it, you're right." Mike nodded.

"The third wasn't that bad." Will argued. "Granted, the first was more like a test run and had weaknesses in every regard but the third was better."

"Yes, but Wrath of Khan and Voyage Home are worlds apart from Search for Spock." Mike retorted.

"Agreed." Will had to admit.

"Not a good sign for the next one, isn't it?" El asked them.

"Please don't give us preconception." Mike pleaded. "If we go into the theater thinking that the movie will be bad, we will see everything that makes it bad."

"Gotcha." El laughed and went into the bathroom first to shower and brush her teeth.

After everyone had said their good nights, El got into bed and waited for Mike to arrive, taking a big risk given how she was waiting for him. When Mike finally came into the room, he was met with the image of his girlfriend on the bed, on her knees and pushing her, to him, perfect ass into the air, straight at him, her look of desire telling him everything he needed to know. Without much hesitation, he quickly hopped on the bed to join their bodies together.

And just like their last night in Hawkins, El decided for them that sleep wasn't needed and they proceeded to make love whenever he was ready to do so, going back to kissing and caressing each other in the time between. Still, the night was over way too quickly, and when Joyce called them to breakfast, one look at their tired faces and somewhat strained gait told her all she needed to know about what they did during the night.

During the eight hours that Jonathan and Nancy took to return to Chicago, El and Mike never separated, El sitting in his lap on her bed, clothed this time, with her lips pressed on his. She was peripherally aware of Will joking about their lips being glued together but she couldn't bring herself to care, the knowledge that time was inexorably passing by, the moment of his departure coming closer and closer.

When it came, it was almost a surprise, despite the knowledge that it would come. After yet another person coming into her room, she expected another quip from Will or Joyce but when Nancy's voice joked about them glued together, she immediately separated from him, shocked at the advanced time. She had planned to be adamant to not cry but when she noticed the tears in Mike's eyes, her own fell too.

"Come on Mike, we need to get going." Nancy prompted him, watching with humor as Mike got off the bed, only to collapse again since his legs were quite numb from El sitting on his thighs for hours.

"See, I need to stay here, I can't move." he argued.

"I'll nurse him back to health." El offered. "Should only take three years."

"Three years?" Nancy smirked. "Why that particular amount of time?"

"Because then we'll both be eighteen and can live together." El stated.

"It's so nice that you're sure about still being together then." Nancy smiled. "But that's still a while, so get up, Mike."

"Yes, sis." Mike sighed and fought himself upright.

With sadness in her heart, El followed Mike out of the house, carrying part of his luggage while he put the rest of it into the trunk of Nancy's car. They hugged each other, Nancy doing the same with Jonathan but as much as Mike wanted to stay in El's embrace, Nancy finally got him to move, making him get into the car with great reluctance, El leaning into the open window.

"Call me on the Super Com the moment you arrive, so I'll know you've arrived safely, okay?" she pleaded.

"Of course." he nodded and pulled her head in for a kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too." she sniffed and leaned back out, watching them drive away, Mike leaning out of the window and waving until they were around the bend and out of sight.

"You'll make it until summer break." Joyce told her and put her arm around El's shoulder, leading her back into the house.

El wasn't so sure if she could.

* * *

**As of writing this note, I have gotten my new computer and installed all the necessary programs. For some strange reason, I wasn't able to open the Chapter 19 file of this story that I had started on my old computer. Luckily, I could still open it as a read-only file and save it under a different name.**

**Even more strange, I tried deleting the old file, which it wouldn't let me, since it was blocked by the user of the computer (which is me) and then, the file promptly disappeared. But I can't even rename the new file with the old designation. I hate Windows sometimes -.-**

**Oh, and I had my first root canal surgery today. Such a strange image when the dentist takes these inch-long needles to file the root canal open. Tomorrow, my dentist will fill the canal with whatever dentists put in there and then I hope I can finally be without pain or swelling in my gum under my crown again.**

**Still, review please :) (or I will pout and cry and stomp my feet and stop writing :D)**


	20. Chapter 20

**Kaltanasio: Well, the uneven movies sucked compared to the even numbered ones :D**

**Other than that, enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I write for my own pleasure and that of the readers.**

* * *

"I hope this is over soon." Marcus groaned, sitting in the audience inside the large tent.

"How do you think I feel?" Bryan gave him a look.

"Shit, you're not just hearing the outside noise." Marcus realized.

"Luckily, outside noise is louder than inside noise." Bryan nodded and looked around. "But I think this time we'll get lucky."

"I hope so." Marcus said. "I've nothing against going to a carnival but having to do eight of those in as many weeks really is too much."

"Doesn't really help that they never advertise anything else than 'things you've never seen before'." Bryan quote the large boards and smaller posters that usually hang around town.

"And now, our main event for the evening!" the announcer shouted.

"Here we go." Bryan looked on as the announcer who was gushing over how amazing the event would be.

"Give a big round of applause to the Hercules twins!" the announcer screamed into his microphone and stepped out of the arena.

"I think we have found the right carnival trope." Marcus nodded as he watched a pair of twins entering the arena.

"For our first presentation, we require the cooperation of an audience member." the left twin shouted over the din, several hands going up.

"Please be quiet everyone." the other twin shouted and the din died down. "Before we begin, we want you to be sure that we're not cheating in any way."

"Sir, can you see anything through this blindfold?" the first twin came over to Bryan, putting a long piece of fabric against his eyes.

"No." Bryan smiled, playing along.

"And can you hear anything through these headphones?" the twin asked again, handing Bryan a pair.

"No." Bryan chuckled sadly after taking them off again, not really able to tell him that while he didn't hear any outside noises, the cacophony of all those people' thoughts had still assaulted his mind.

The act continued with the second twin putting on the blindfold and headphones before laying down on bench with a microphone in his hand. The first twin let several audience members hand him multiple items of their possessions, makeup mirrors, pens, coins and banknotes of varying denominations and the other twin, from thirty feet away, discerned all of it, down to the serial numbers of the notes.

"You know how they're doing that?" Marcus whispered, since everyone on the audience was quiet except for frequent oohs and aahs and applause.

"Yes." Bryan nodded. "They're communicating telepathically. This one simply tells the other what he has in his hands in their shared mind."

"Seriously?" Marcus gasped.

"Apparently, it's their power." Bryan smiled. "Comes in handy, especially if they can do that over long distances."

"Perfect spies." Marcus said. "One goes around the world, one stays behind and the one who's out can relay everything he reads or sees directly to the twin."

"But I guess they'd stand out a bit." Bryan chuckled.

"That they do." Marcus agreed, looking again at the bulging muscles of the pair who was finishing their mentalist act to raucous applause of the audience.

The announcer returned as the twins moved to different ends of the area, where several heavy-looking objects were located, even a small VW beetle and a large blacksmith's anvil. The announcer told them that the two would show their strength and the audience came unglued when the two began throwing the objects to each other, one throwing and the other catching and return.

"Jesus!" Marcus gasped. "An anvil of that type weighs approximately five hundred pounds!"

"And the car is even heavier." Bryan added when the first twin grabbed the beetle and threw it to his twin who stopped the ballistic curve with his hands and the vehicle fell to the ground.

The second twin then took up the car and twirled it over his head, even holding it up by one hand. Bryan could hear the thoughts of the audience, a swirl of denials or accusations that the car was made of plastic and cardboard, even with the sound of heavy crashing whenever it dropped back on the floor.

To prove their strength even more, they asked for more volunteers, people who could stand on small objects beneath them and two heavy-looking men raised their hands, both being waved to the arena floor by the twins. One of them knelt down, placing his hands into the holder of two flat plates and then placing them on the ground.

The two men stepped on one plate each and as soon as the second twin had explained that they were to stand as straight as possible, the first twin slowly stood up, keeping his arms straight and lifting both men into the air on the small platforms. More applause followed, even Marcus and Bryan joining in, given the feats of strength they were witnessing.

"So, I guess these are our guys?" Marcus chuckled.

"Highly likely." Bryan nodded, though they couldn't see their tattoos thanks to the long sleeves of their carnival uniforms.

"We should talk to them." Marcus said a few minutes later, when the twins had finished their routine and left the arena, followed by the announcer telling them that this was the end of the show and that the people should now enjoy the rest of what the carnival had to offer.

Bryan and Marcus excited the tent, the throng of people making it difficult and to their dismay, the twins were gone once they were out. They took the long route towards the back area, buying some cotton candy as cover and once they had finished that, they walked to the back area, only to be stopped by a tall, bald man, heavily tattooed who held out a hand.

"No visitors allowed back here." the man told them.

"We're special." Marcus smiled, showing his badge, as did Bryan.

"We need to talk to the twins." Bryan added. "Don't worry, they're not in any trouble."

"Walk a hundred feet straight, take a right, two hundred feet more and you will find them." the man made room.

Marcus and Bryan pocketed their badges once more and began walking, turning right at the specified point. Two hundred further, they found a clearing between the wagons of the carny folk, a large round space with a small fire pit in the middle where the twins were sitting, a large keg of beer next to each one and both drinking from tankards that they refilled from hoses coming from the bottom of the keg.

"Yes, you have visitors." Bryan suddenly said, Marcus looking confused at his colleague since the twins haven't said anything.

"We didn't say anything." the left twin said, voicing Marcus's thought.

"You didn't need to." Bryan smiled and showed them his badge. "I'm Agent Templeton, I work for the CIA, this is my colleague Agent Boyd. And no, you're not in trouble and there's no reason to flatten us to the ground."

"How are you doing this?" the second twin asked.

"We have to talk." Bryan said and showed them the tattoo on his wrist.

"I see." the left twin said and showed the 003 on his arm, followed by the other who showed the 004. "Take a seat."

"Thank you." Bryan nodded.

"Is he one too?" the first twin asked, pointing to Marcus.

"No, I'm not." Marcus shook his head.

"Well, I'm Tim, this is my brother Tom." the one with the three on his wrist said.

"So, Tim and Tom?" Marcus grinned.

"Save it." Tom said. "Still better than Tom and Jerry."

"That's true." Marcus nodded.

"You guys want a beer?" Tim asked.

"No, we're on duty." Bryan declined. "Are you two really drinking a whole keg of beer each?"

"Yeah, alcohol doesn't work on us." Tom shrugged. "At least not the same as other people."

"What does that mean?" Marcus was interested.

"When we finish these, the only consequences will be that we have to pee a lot." Tim chuckled.

"When we chug two bottles of vodka in a few swigs, it gives us a slightly warm feeling but that goes away again after a minute or two." Tom added.

"So, if alcohol doesn't work, why this?" Bryan pointed to the barrels.

"We like the taste." both said at the same time.

"So, why does the CIA wanna talk to us?" Tim wanted to know.

"We're going to need your help." Bryan told them.

"With what?" Tom looked at him expectantly.

"Before we continue, we need you to understand that what we're going to tell you is top secret and if you tell anyone about it, you'll be subject to treason charges." Marcus interjected.

"That'll be interesting." Tim grinned and took another swig.

"In a not so distant future, we're going to conduct a mission to Russia to destroy a secret Russian research project and, if he's still alive, rescue an American prisoner." Bryan explained. "I'm in the process to recruit more people like us to help with this mission."

"How would we get to Russia?" Tom asked. "Submarine?"

"If the first idea doesn't work." Bryan nodded.

"What's the first idea?"

"Interdimensional travel." Bryan told them, seeing the confused looks of the twins. "I'd explain it at the meeting before the mission starts. Lets just say, other dimensions exist and another person with a number tattoo on her wrist has opened and later closed a gate to that dimension but the Russians are also working with it and that can put the entire United States in danger."

"Alright, we're in." Tim said, Tom nodding.

"What, just like that?" Marcus wondered.

"We may be carnies but we are Americans." Tom nodded. "Sure, we wouldn't say no to a lifetime supply of beer, but..."

"I doubt, given your consumption rate, the CIA can afford a lifetime supply of beer for you two." Bryan chuckled. "But I think we can work something out."

"How do we reach you once we're ready for the meeting?" Marcus asked the two. "As carnies, I doubt you are reachable by telephone."

"Wait here." Tim said and got up, walking away from them into another trailer and returning later with a small stack of paper. "There you go."

"Your itinerary?" Bryan looked at the rows of dates and locations.

"Exactly." Tim nodded. "When you're ready to do that meeting of yours, come get us or send someone you trust to get us."

"Thank you." Bryan smiled gratefully and stood up, holding out his hand.

"Our pleasure, Bryan." Tom said as he shook his hand.

"Wait, you know me?"

"Of course." Tom smiled. "We may have been young children when we got into that lab and barely interacted with you, but your name fell a couple of times."

"Did you find others like us already or are we the first?" Tim asked.

"We found number six and got his cooperation already." Bryan told him. "We know where number eleven is and we're saving her for last but we have trouble finding number eight, since she can make herself disappear from curious eyes. But we know which city she's in."

"Well, then we await your men to pick us up, then." Tom said.

"Until then." Bryan nodded and the two agents left them alone.

"That went better than I expected." Marcus said as they walked to their rental car.

"Yep." Bryan agreed. "So now we only need to find eight and then convince her and number eleven to join and we can do the meeting to see if we can actually go into the other dimension."

"If not, we really do need a submarine." Marcus sighed and started the car.

"And then, our job will become that much harder." Bryan agreed.

* * *

"I'm impressed." a voice startled him when Mike hung from the edge of the pool, breathing hard after yet another long stint swimming.

"Hey." Mike greeted the stranger. "The pool is closed already. Who are you and how did you get in here?"

"I'm Lance." the young man replied, Mike giving him a look. "Lance Brown? My dad owns this pool. I got a key."

"Wait, aren't you the captain of the football team?" Mike asked, remembering the face.

"That's me." Lance smiled.

"Okay, do you need something or are you just watching me swim?" Mike wanted to know, lifting himself out of the pool.

"I came here to work on my cardio and swimming is good idea when your knees don't allow for long, continuous runs." Lance told him. "But when I saw you I was surprised at your endurance, I mean, you were already swimming when I got here and that was ninety minutes ago."

"Yeah, I usually swim between two and three hours." Mike shrugged.

"Seriously, how do you do that?" Lance gasped. "I can barely do half an hour before I feel my arms falling off."

"I wasn't any better in the beginning." Mike said. "It comes with repetition."

"Do you count the laps?"

"Only when it starts hurting." Mike explained.

"I don't follow."

"I never try to do a certain amount of laps. I swim until I feel exhaustion kicking in and then I start counting laps and try to beat my number from the previous day."

"And that helps?"

"You're an athlete, you should know." Mike pointed out. "When you keep training, things that were hard before become easier because your muscles grow and your body gets used to it, right?"

"So, by swimming until you feel exhaustion kicking in and then pushing yourself over the limit, you managed to go three hours without breaks?"

"Exactly." Mike nodded. "But as I said, I don't look at the time, I just swim until I feel I can't go on anymore. Sometimes that's after three hours, sometimes after two and a half. Depends on the day I had."

"Wait, I've seen you around, you're a junior now, right?"

"I am." Mike nodded. "What, are you going to plan bully pranks against me now?"

"Nah." Lance waved him off. "I don't that crap. But you could do me a favor."

"Which would be?" Mike asked.

"Put in a good word for me with Lucy." Lance grinned broadly.

"Frankly, I doubt you could handle her." Mike chuckled, knowing that much about his lifeguard colleague.

"I should be, I am double her weight."

"Just more for her to throw to the ground when she gets pissed at you." Mike smiled. "But I can do that. No promises though."

"It's all a guy can ask." Lance nodded.

"Seriously though, you're the captain of the football team, shouldn't you have your pick of willing girls?"

"It's not that many and most of them are boring." Lance sighed. "They're not interested in me or in getting to know me, all they want is the weird acclaim of having fucked the captain of the football team."

"Quite frankly, that was pretty deep." Mike nodded impressed as he took his towel.

"Did you think I was some dumb jock?" Lance looked at him, eyes squinting.

"A bit, yeah." Mike chuckled. "One of your friends in particular certainly is."

"Yeah, Larry." Lance nodded. "He may be dumb as a rock but I've never seen a better linebacker."

"And women often flock to him." Mike pointed out.

"But they don't stay." Lance retorted. "I've seen you with your girlfriend, that's the kind of relationship that most people want."

"You too?"

"Yeah." Lance shrugged. "I mean, some people may be happy with fucking another girl every weekend but that just makes them man-sluts."

"Man-sluts?" Mike chuckled.

"Man-sluts." Lance repeated. "They may call themselves great lovers but a great lover is someone who's capable of seducing the same woman every night. Just because you can seduce a different woman every weekend, not that Larry is the one doing the seducing, you're just a slut."

"Because after the first seduction, a woman knows you." Mike nodded in understanding. "Very philosophical."

"Don't act as if you're surprised." Lance laughed.

"Well, I'd love to stay and chat but my girlfriend is waiting for my call." Mike smiled and got up.

"Sucks to be fifteen and not being able to just go to here, huh?" Lance smiled back, also getting up.

"Sucks even more that she moved to Chicago last summer." Mike sighed.

"Ouch." Lance gave him a sympathetic slap on the shoulders. "Say hi to her for me."

"I can do that, though she will probably ask who you are." Mike laughed this time.

"Whatever." Lance laughed back and took a dive into the pool to do his own swimming.

Mike shook his head and headed to the showers, cleaning himself from the chlorine water he had swam in. After getting dressed, he exited the building, locking the door to avoid anyone getting in while Lance swam and he jumped on his bike, riding home under the darkening sky. He sighed, the fact that the days got longer another reminder that the woman he loved was in another city.

Much to both of their chagrin, Joyce had been right again. The absence became easier to bear, much like it had after their separation after New Year's. Both kept in contact via the SuperCom, every night for at least an hour or two before turning in, sometimes engaging in verbal sex with each other that left them both somewhat released after doing it to themselves with their hands.

El sighed deeply after one of those verbal sex sessions, feeling the absence of the man she loved. She filled her days with homework and training sessions, be it her own powers or track and field, where she had quickly established herself as the prevalent long distance runner, running faster than anyone else in her school, especially in the one mile, three thousand and five thousand meter distances with good results in the ten thousand meter distance as well.

Of course, as Mike had predicted, her success had brought the attention of people who stayed to gaze at her figure, accentuated by the admittedly tight shorts and equally tight tops. That attention from the male students caused some jealousy from some female students, especially the bitch squad El had already had a run-in with but so far, they had restricted their ire to whispered words behind her back.

Not that she cared. For some reason, it was already common knowledge in school that she had a boyfriend who she already had sex with, which wasn't that common at her age in her school. And while they could know the first part from someone seeing her with Mike when he visited, how they knew the sex part, she had no idea. But again, not that she cared. Allegations that she was a slut petered out quickly since she never went out in the evenings, never had an interest in parties or other gatherings outside of school and the only time she left the house was to go to the mall with Joyce or Will.

Time went by. April turned to May, May turned to June and the date of their finals came ever closer. While they still talked on the SuperCom, their talks got shorter in favor of studying for the final tests they had to write soon. For El and for Mike as well, the tests couldn't come quickly enough because a few days after the last one, she, Will and Jonathan would be on their way to Hawkins, Joyce following later when she had her vacation.

* * *

"I'm telling you, she did!" Axel argued.

"In your dreams." Dottie laughed, biting off a piece of her hotdog.

"She's totally into me!" Axel tried again.

"She's nice because you tip well." Kali pointed out, holding her own bag with the food she had ordered.

The group walked back to their hideout, an abandoned warehouse no different from the one they used before. When they reached it, Kali used her powers to hide them from prying eyes as Axel unlocked the door and went in, Kali last so she could close the door before she let go of the illusion of nobody going into the building.

They dispersed to their usual places upstairs, Funshine to his workbench where he began munching on his burger while the others sat down on at the large table to eat their food in peace. As was usual for them, they didn't bother with needless conversation, enjoying the peace and quiet, the hum of the light fixtures only disturbed by the sporadic noises from Funshine at his workbench. Suddenly, they heard the sound of cars stopping and doors opening and closing, followed by boots walking on hard ground.

"Shit!" Axel cursed after getting up to look and when he saw the vehicles outside. "Kali, we're busted!"

"Lets get out of here." Kali said, preparing to use her powers again to hide them.

"We can't." Dottie whispered. "They have put cars in front of every door, we can't open them."

"Quiet." Kali mentioned for them when they heard someone coming up the stairs, surprised when only one person entered the second floor.

"I know you're all here." the man said. "Kali, Axel, Dottie, Mick and Funshine. And I know Kali is currently hiding you from my eyes."

_Fuck!_ Mick mouthed to Kali.

"My name is Bryan Templeton, I'm a CIA agent." the man continued, showing his badge to what was for him an empty room. "I'm here to make you an offer. If you accept, meet me outside. I'll wait in my car across the street for another hour. My men will leave, only one of my colleagues will stay with me."

With that, Bryan put down the envelope he had prepared and to top it off, he rolled up his sleeve and showed the tattoo on his forearm, showing Kali that he was one of them. Afterwards, he turned around and went back down the stairs and the gang watched as the agents outside got back into their cars and left.

"What the hell was that about?" Axel asked into the room, walking to the window to see if someone was still there. "Looks clear. The guy's car is across the street as he said."

"He had a tattoo like you." Dottie pointed out.

"I saw." Kali nodded and took the envelope, opening it.

"What does it say?" Funshine asked.

"It's a date and an address for a meeting." Kali said.

"Where?"

"Hawkins, Indiana." Kali told them. "Mick, get me a car."

"You're not actually planning on going there, are you?" Axel scoffed.

"He knows me." Kali said. "He knows all of us. He knew we were here, despite my powers. Yet he left. He could have simply waited until I was too tired to hide us all."

"Why Hawkins, Indiana, though?" Funshine wondered.

"Jane is from there." Kali mused. "Maybe it has something to do with her."

"I'll get us a ride." Mick nodded and left the hideout.

"You don't have to come with me on this one." Kali said.

"We're family." Mick shrugged and that was it for her.

Kali walked downstairs and out of the warehouse, seeing the car with the two agents inside. To show that they had noticed her, one of them turned the ceiling light on, showing their faces and Kali walked over to them, the driver's side window rolling down as she neared. She saw the faces of the man that had entered the warehouse and another person.

"We'll be there." Kali told them. "All of us."

"Just you." the other man, the one she didn't know, said.

"It's either all of us or not at all." Kali stated.

"Alright." the man who had introduced himself as Bryan nodded and Kali left them alone again.

"That went better than I expected." Bryan remarked after Kali had reentered the building.

"But now there's four more people we'll have to clue in." Marcus argued.

"They know a lot already anyway, about her powers. And I doubt they wanna die once we told them the background information." Bryan shrugged.

"What do you think they'll demand for their help?" Marcus asked.

"I think, an offer of preemptive pardons for their crimes will be enough." Bryan smiled.

"You think they committed crimes?"

"Most certainly." Bryan nodded. "Everything from petty theft to murder."

"Wait, murder?" Marcus gasped.

"In my search for them, I found reports of eight people that were connected to the lab getting killed. Police never found the culprits, witnesses reports never saw them, which leads me to believe that she used her powers to hide them." Bryan explained.

"Can we trust them?"

"I doubt it." Bryan chuckled. "But I guess pardons will give them a reason not to break it."

"What next?"

"Now we get in contact with Jane Ives. Project Eleven." Bryan said and started the car.

He drove the way across town and into the suburbs where they knew the Byers family had taken residence in. Driving up the road, they found the house, stopping half a mile away and walking to another house, knocking on the door and being let in by the two people that were using the house as a base.

"Any news?" Bryan asked.

"None, Agent Templeton." the first man said. "The subject and her family are in the house and have been since nine. They were doing a barbecue before, we think to celebrate the end of the school finals."

"Alright, we're going to talk to them. Afterwards, I think we can end this observation after another week, as soon as the family leaves for Hawkins, Indiana."

Bryan and Marcus left the house again and got back into their car, driving it the remaining distance to the Byers house. They walked over to the entrance and knocked loudly, waiting twenty seconds for the walking feet coming closer and the locks opening before the opening door revealed the mother of the family.

"Misses Byers?" Bryan spoke up.

"Yes?" Joyce looked apprehensively at the two men.

"My name is Bryan Templeton, this is my colleague Marcus Boyd, we're with the CIA." Bryan introduced them, both showing their badges. "We need to speak to you, and especially, your daughter Jane."

"Uh..." Joyce hesitated.

"Don't worry, she's not in any trouble." Bryan calmed her. "We simply need to speak to her."

"Okay, come on in." Joyce stepped aside, letting the two men in. "Can I offer you something to drink?"

"Thank you, but no." Bryan shook his head and saw two young men sitting on the couch in the living room, who looked as apprehensive at them as Joyce had. "Could you please get Miss Ives?"

"Jane!" Joyce called out. "Can you come down here?"

"On my way!" El shouted back and left her room, coming down the stairs and for the first time meeting the man she had met in the voice three times face to face.

"Hello Jane." Bryan smiled at the girl. "Or can I call you El?"

"It's you!" El gasped.

"Yes, and there's no reason to shove me into a wall." Bryan stopped her, hearing the shouts coming out of her mind and her plans to do just that if he just so much as breathed the wrong way.

"Who are you?" Will asked from the couch.

"My name is Bryan Templeton. I'm a CIA agent and I have met young Miss Ives three times in a place where usually nobody goes." Bryan told him and rolled up his sleeve, showing his tattoo. "And we need to talk."

"About what?" Joyce asked.

"A secret mission to Russia to prevent the Russians to do what they have tried last year under the Starcourt Mall in Hawkins, Indiana." Bryan produced another envelope. "We can't say anything more right now, but if you're willing to help, we have prepared a meeting in your former hometown. Your sister is going to be there too, as well as some others like us. Lets just say, the success of the mission may depend on you and your powers."

El held the envelope, wondering if she should even open it as the two men left.

"Do you believe them?" Joyce asked, watching El opening the envelope and reading it.

"Yes." she nodded. "The meeting is in three days."

"Alright, everyone pack your bags." Joyce clapped her hands, dialing the number of her boss to start her vacation earlier, citing a family emergency.

* * *

**I do admit that I have no idea when the state of Illinois had their summer school break in 1989, since the dates appear to be different not only by state but also by school district...**

**Review please :)**


	21. Chapter 21

**winterzwiebel: Jo, nach der Veröffentlichung des Kapitels is mir das mit dem Beetle auch eingefallen ^^**

**Enjoy this one :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I write for my own pleasure and that of the readers.**

* * *

"Michael, will you stop?" Karen smiled at her son's efforts.

"They'll be here in three days, mom." Mike pointed out. "I want it to be perfect."

"You'll have ten weeks together, I think you get enough chances to get it perfect." Karen smiled.

"I can't thank you enough for allowing her to stay for that long." Mike hugged his mom.

"Please, if I hadn't done that, you'd probably followed her to Chicago." Karen chuckled and sprinkled some seasoning on the food.

"Probably." Mike smiled.

"HOLLY, TED, NANCY, LUNCH!" Karen shouted, handing Mike his plate and that of Holly, while she carried hers, Nancy's and Ted's.

"Meat loaf again?" Nancy sighed, seeing the meat on her plate.

"Meat love is great." Mike grinned and dug into his food.

"So, Nancy, what will you do during Jonathan's time here?" Karen asked her oldest daughter.

"While he's here, we're going to have fun?" Nancy smirked. "But when we go to Chicago, we want to look at apartments that would allow me to quickly get to college and him to quickly get to work."

For once, Mike could eat his food in peace, Karen deciding to needle Nancy with incessant questions about her upcoming college plans. After they finished eating, Mike helped his mother do the dishes but before they could finish, someone rang their doorbell.

"Mike, it's for you!" Ted called from the door. "Your friend Max."

"Hey Max, I thought we'd meet later." Mike said to his friend who had a serious expression on his face.

"We need to go somewhere." Max said seriously. "Can you get Nancy too?"

"What's this about?" Mike asked.

"No idea, but it's important." Max said evasively. "About our shared experience."

"Wait here." Mike said, accepting her words and going up the stairs and knocking on his sister's room. "Nancy, you need to drive us somewhere."

"Where?" Nancy looked at him.

"No idea, Max wouldn't tell but she says it's important." Mike told her. "About our shared experience."

"I see." Nancy nodded and followed him down the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Karen asked from the kitchen.

"To the arcade, if that's okay." Nancy lied.

"Have fun." Karen shrugged.

"So, care to tell me what's so important?" Nancy asked Max once they were in her car.

"Drive to this address." Max said, giving Nancy a piece of paper with an address on it.

"Seriously, you're freaking me out." Nancy said.

"Please, you'll learn everything once we're there." Max pleaded and with a sigh, Nancy gave in.

"There?" Mike wondered after a twenty minute drive, where Nancy stopped at an old warehouse.

"Yes." Max nodded and got out of the car.

"Isn't that Jonathan's car?" Nancy wondered, seeing several other vehicles already in front of the building.

"Please, get inside." a man in a suit told her, his demeanor making her follow his direction and he came in after the group was in.

"El!" Mike gasped when he saw her sitting next to a dark-skinned woman who was equally surrounded by four others.

"Mike!" El shrieked and ran to him, jumping into his arms and pressing her mouth on his.

"I thought you were coming in three days." Mike managed to say between kisses.

"Dude, that begins to get tiring." Dustin scoffed from the side, Mike seeing his friends for the first time and also noticing Nancy sucking face with Jonathan.

"Is that what we look like?" Mike pointed to the other couple.

"You look worse." Will chuckled.

"How did you get here?" Mike asked his friends.

"Jonathan got us." Lucas told him. "No idea why, though. But I think those are the guys who will explain."

"Who?" Mike asked and turned around, seeing a pair twins with huge muscles, and three older men, two of whom were wearing suits.

"Now that everyone is here, I think introductions are in order." Bryan said and pulled back his left sleeve, showing his tattoo. "My name is Bryan Templeton, I'm a CIA agent and interrogator and I'm also known as One. My powers consist of hearing people's thoughts, I can put suggestions in people's heads as well as knowledge transfer into and out of my brain."

"You can hear people's thoughts?" Mike asked surprised.

"Yes, I can hear what you think." Bryan nodded. "So, me being here with all of you is kinda uncomfortable for me, since you all think different thoughts. For me, it's like you're all talking at the same time, never finishing a sentence."

"Then what I'm thinking right now?" Axel scoffed and looked directly at Brian.

"Your direct thought is that I'm full of crap." Bryan chuckled. "But what your mind is also shouting continuously is that you hate my guts because she smiled at me when I shook her hand. You love her." he added, pointing at Dottie.

"HA!" Mick laughed, while Dottie looked away embarrassed.

"Get out of my head!" Axel demanded.

"I'm not in your head." Bryan shrugged. "It's you who's shouting it at me."

"And what do you mean with suggestions?" Dustin wanted to know.

"I can make people do things with certain words." Bryan told him.

"Bullshit." Axel scoffed again.

"See, _Axel_, _do_ you not think that _a_ talent like this is good to have on _hand_ when you try to make people under_stand_?" Bryan said to him.

"That sentence didn't make any sense." Axel shook his head but walked to the nearby wall and, to everyone's surprise and laughter, did a handstand against it.

"I see what you did there." Kali laughed and finally, Axel realized what he was doing.

"Dammit, get out of my head." Axel complained.

"See?" Bryan smiled as well. "Lets continue the introductions please."

"I'm Tim Steeple, this is my brother Tom, and as you can see, we're twins." the left twin said, exposing his forearm to reveal a 003, his brother doing the same and showing a 004. "Our ability is to communicate with each other telepathically over any distance. And our physical strength is quite enhanced."

"How enhanced?" Funshine asked.

"We could throw you back and forth like a beach ball without any problems." Tim winked at him. "Or balance you on one hand."

"My name is Brandon Harper." the next in the circle said, also revealing his forearm with a 006 on it. "I'm a doctor. I can diagnose any disease just by being close to people and heal them with touch, though the latter severely weakens me."

"So, you're a real life Jesus?" Mick gasped at him.

"I'm Kali, and I'm number eight." Kali said, forestalling any reply from Brandon. "I can make people see things."

"So, illusions?" Tom asked.

"Yes." Kali nodded.

"I'm Jane." El introduced herself by using her birth name and showing her arm. "Subject eleven. I can do telekinesis and I can find people."

"Find people?" Tim looked at her.

"Image supported geolocation." Bryan translated, having gleaned that from her when he had gotten the knowledge out of her brain. "Give her a picture of a person and she can find them."

"Okay, now that we all got to know each other, why are we here?" Mick asked, addressing the elephant in the room after everyone else without numbers had introduced themselves.

"What I'm about to tell you stays in this room, understand?" Bryan looked at them, seeing the group around Kali rolling their eyes. "I mean that. This is national security and if you talk to anyone about it, you're subject to treason charges and summary execution after a short military tribunal."

"Alright, alright." Axel lifted his arms in surrender.

"Last year, the Russians infiltrated this town." Bryan pointed to behind him. "They had built a machine to reopen an interdimensional gate under Hawkins lab that Jane had opened by accident a few years ago but closed a year later. The Russians were already trying to open a gate in Russia but they were unsuccessful, at least in keeping it open."

"So, what concern is that to us?" Funshine wanted to know.

"The Russians are still experimenting with it and now they know that it works. It's only a matter of time before they're successful." Bryan explained. "We need to stop them."

"Are you appealing to our love for our country so we help you?" Axel scoffed. "The country that seemed to have forgotten us?"

"I'm not stupid enough to think that you would help out of the goodness of your heart." Bryan chuckled.

"We do." Tom said, Tim nodding too.

"So, what's in it for us?" Dottie asked him.

"The Russians have an American prisoner." Bryan looked directly at El. "His name is James Hopper. I think you know him."

"Dad?" El teared up.

"Jim is alive?" Joyce gasped.

"Yes, and we're going to rescue him before we destroy the Russians' machine." Bryan nodded.

"We're in." Max stated, the group nodding.

"Me too." Brandon agreeing.

"I'll help." Kali said. "If only to see my sister happy."

"Thank you." El smiled warmly at her.

"So, what do we get?" Axel asked.

"How about full pardons for everything you have done so far?" Bryan suggested. "Clean slate for all of you. No prosecutions for the dozens of thefts and the eight murders you've committed."

"You know?" Kali gasped.

"Given that the people who died were all people associated with Hawkins lab, it wasn't that hard to deduce." Bryan said.

"If you are like us, why are you working for the government that tortured you?" El wanted to know.

"The government never tortured me." Bryan said. "When my powers manifested, I was six years old. I was approached by government agents who promised my parents to take care of me and they did. My parents were always allowed to visit me, I was allowed to visit them. It was more like a specialized education than confinement. The only thing they did that you could see as torture was giving me this tattoo to identify me when they found the others but they used local anesthesia to do it. I was fed, I was well cared for. I lived in a large apartment within the base, I had a bed, my own bathroom, plenty of food. I could leave regularly."

"We couldn't." Kali said. "We were kept in cells and if we didn't do what they wanted, we were tortured, physically and mentally."

"I know." Bryan nodded. "But that was Brenner's doing. He went rogue with his methods long ago. Hawkin's lab wasn't even supposed to have you there, it was created for genuine research."

"What happened to the others?" El asked. "The numbers that aren't here."

"The others died." Bryan shrugged, seeing the apprehensive looks on the other's faces. "They weren't killed. According to the logs, they expired when their powers got out of control and destroyed them from within."

"I find that hard to believe." Kali said.

"Really?" Bryan looked at her. "Imagine Jane unable to control her telekinetic powers and she accidentally pulls a car on herself at high speed? Or collapsing a building and it falls on her. In this case, they were trying to use their powers but either their brains couldn't handle that or they died as a result of what their powers caused."

"I get it." Kali accepted.

"I can confirm the death of project seven." Brandon interjected. "I watched him die when he lost control over his powers."

"What exactly do you need us to do?" Funshine asked.

"That depends." Bryan said and turned to El. "Jane, can you open the gate to the other dimension again?"

"The Upside Down." El said quietly.

"I'm sorry?"

"It's what she coined it, the Upside Down." Mike repeated. "It's because it's like a dark version of Hawkins."

"Not just Hawkins." Marcus said. "The Russians are trying to open gates and have succeeded for short times and I doubt that they see a dark version of your hometown."

"But since your adoptive father has somehow ended up in the hands of the Russians, we speculate that either distance and time or both work differently in that dimension. Jim Hopper certainly didn't walk the way to Russia without food or water while hurt." Bryan added.

"And with all those monsters over there." Dustin interjected.

"I think I can open the gate again." El nodded.

"Though I don't think it will stay open." Joyce interjected. "The Russians had kept it open by shooting a beam of energy into it and once the machine was destroyed, the gate closed immediately."

"That's where one of them would come into play." Bryan pointed to the twins. "Their physical strength could be enough to hold the gate open."

"So, you want to send the rest of us to Russia?" Dustin asked incredulous.

"Only as many as Miss Prasad can hide from the denizens of that dimension." Bryan nodded.

"Then I'd suggest as few as possible." Kali threw in. "Too many people would tax me too much, especially if I had to do it for a long time."

"But how would we find our way?" Mike asked. "I mean, lets say, we simply walk east and reach a gate that allows us to get into that facility. How would we come back? I doubt I know where west is when we get back into the Upside Down from the Russian side."

"I have an idea about that." Bryan nodded. "I can suck knowledge from your brain and put it back in. I think I could use that power to connect you and Jane, since you two have strong feelings for each other. Jane could act like a lighthouse for you. It would only be temporary but I think it would be long enough for this mission."

"So, the team going to Russia would consist of three people." Marcus said. "Mike to act as guide and beacon reader, if you will, Tom or Tim, depending on who stays here, to carry the bomb and of course to hold the gate on the Russian side open and Kali to hide them. The return trip would be with four people, if Jim Hopper is still alive. And Mike, it would be faster if you walked northwest, the way is shorter from here to Kamchatka."

"I would supply you with several syringes full of epinephrine, in case one of you gets incapacitated." Brandon added. "And since I learned about this mission, I created a concoction that would counteract the various types of serums that the Russians tend to inject into prisoners, either to make them talk or to keep them sedated."

"I don't know how to give a shot to anyone." Mike told him.

"That's not so difficult in this regard." Brandon replied. "You need to inject those directly into the heart. The concoction has to go into the bloodstream, so you can also simply slam the syringe into his chest."

"I don't think I can do that." Mike gasped.

"You will have to if you want this mission to be successful." Brandon shrugged. "I suggest you learn until the mission starts."

"How?" Mike asked. "I doubt anyone here would be willing to lie down so I can hammer needles into their chests."

"Count me out." Dustin shuddered.

"I can get you a dummy that's a good representation of the human body, with the resistance of the chest cavity and so on." Brandon said.

"And I will give everyone the knowledge of the weapons we're using." Bryan said. "You will experience some bad headaches once I pushed the knowledge inside your brains but they will last only for an hour or so."

"Alright." Mike nodded, accepting the charge, the others as well.

* * *

The following days went in a flurry of preparations. To hide their undertaking, the boys claimed to have a little camping trip, with Joyce, Nancy and Jonathan as well as Robin and Steve acting as chaperons for the teenagers. When they picked up their tents and sleeping bags from their respective homes, Mike and Dustin got food baskets from their parents, giving the group at least some better food than the canned stuff the agents had brought.

In several more briefing sessions, the boys had explained what kind of beings the demogorgons were and how they could be fought and Joyce had told them about her experience inside the Upside Down. Bryan, accepting their words, brought in crates of weapons for them to fight and to their surprise, it wasn't guns but crossbows with metal-tipped bolts as well as a large harpoon for Funshine, his strength making him the only one capable of using it since the twins had other tasks.

Bryan had used his powers to give everyone the knowledge to use those weapons. What he couldn't teach was marksmanship, so the assembled group used the time to practice, shooting bolts at targets at ranges and angles that were expected. Steve kept his nail bat on hand, thinking it prudent to have a close quarter weapon available if needed and Robin let him teach her how to use it properly.

Mike had asked Bryan for more than just the knowledge he needed for the mission, wanting to learn proper fighting techniques and after a bit of hesitation, Bryan had given in, pressing his hand against Mike's head and pumping knowledge into his head that had caused him to experience a ten-hour headache that was the worst pain he ever experienced in his young life but for this ten hours of agony, Mike got combat knowledge and was now able to speak Russian, which could help him once they reached their destination.

On the fifth day after their first meeting, the group assembled in the gate room in the bowels of Hawkins lab. Joyce looked in surprise at the room, the last time she had seen it was when she blew up the machine. Now it was cleaned and the observation room had been replaced by gantries, allowing people to take an elevated position.

Brandon handed out some pills to the group going to Russia. From what he had told them before, Mike knew that these would keep them awake for up to five days if taken regularly, though doing it for that long would have a pretty damaging effect on their physical and psychological health. Mike hoped they wouldn't have to take them at all, since El needed to stay awake as well to keep her signal going for Mike to see.

Robin, Steve, Dustin, Lucas and Max would take position on the upper gantry, while Will, Jonathan, Nancy and Joyce would be on the lower gantry. Kali's group placed themselves on a side gantry, Funshine hefting his weapon while Mick would act as his loader with Axel and Dottie also carrying the same crossbows the others had. Each group had mattresses and sleeping bags on their gantries, so some of the group could sleep for as long there wasn't a danger coming through the gate.

Brandon took up position in the antechamber, out of harms way, only to join the fight if his powers were needed. El's place was a round pedestal in the middle of the room, with Bryan taking up position in front of it to use his abilities to protect her. As for the twins, a quick game of rock, paper, scissors resulted in Tim being the one staying in the lab, holding the gate open while Tom would accompany Kali and Mike while also carrying the bomb.

"Is everyone ready?" Bryan asked, after seeing Mike fuss around with his hazmat suit.

"How can we be sure that this suit will fit Hopper?" Mike asked, pointing a thumb to the backpack strapped to his back.

"We used the information from his file and what you guys told us his gut has come out." Marcus told him. "Also, I doubt the Russians will have fed him well, so he's most likely lost a few pounds."

"And are you sure that this taser stick you gave me will work against those creatures?" Mike went on.

"Since I have no idea what these creatures even look like, much less how they react to electricity, no." Bryan shook his head. "But a stun baton is easier to carry than a crossbow. With luck, you won't have to use it. Kali should be able to hide you."

"And if not, this baby will surely take care of them." Tom grinned, holding his nail gun up like a duelist would a handgun.

"El, ready?" Bryan called to the girl, who was standing near.

"Ready." El nodded and joined them, pressing a kiss to Mike's lips. "For luck."

"Now, close your eyes and concentrate on your feelings for each other." Bryan told them and pressed his hands against their heads, closing his eyes as well.

Mike felt as if someone was digging into his brain, a feeling not unlike the one he had felt when Bryan had pumped all that knowledge into his mind. Clenching his teeth, he felt like sitting in a dentist chair, pain lancing into his skull as Bryan rapidly shuffled knowledge between them, using that technique to connect their minds together. It took three minutes but suddenly, the pain subsided and while still keeping his eyes closed, he could see El's presence next to him as if she was a flood light shaped like a human.

"I can feel him." El said in wonder.

"Good, now get on the platform and open the gate and try to keep it small." Bryan nodded, proud that his plan had worked. "Tim, get on the gantry and get ready to hold the gate open if it closed on its own."

"On it." Tim nodded and climbed the ladder to where he needed to be.

El stuck out her arm, concentrating the same way she had when she had closed the gate. She felt the pressure of the Upside Down against the wall and tweaked the veil between the dimensions, feeling a tear form. Concentrating hard on it, she felt it weaken further and then rip open, the wall cracking and crumbling as the tear in real space became visible and larger.

"Alright, that's big enough!" Bryan shouted as Tim stepped into the breach, pressing his arms against the edges of the tear.

"Guys, please don't take too long." Tim said from above. "The push is pretty strong."

"We'll do our best." Mike nodded and stepped into the breach, feeling as if he walked through mud as he traversed the threshold.

"Jesus!" Kali gasped when she came after him.

"Wow!" Tom gasped as well after he appeared in the Upside Down. "This is really fucked up."

"Northwest is this way." Mike pointed and started walking. "Now I only have to keep El's image behind me and we shouldn't get lost."

"Are those the eggs Joyce told us about?" Kali asked, seeing the ovoid objects, several of them open.

"I think so." Mike nodded. "We shouldn't touch them."

"No argument from me." Tom shuddered, having never expected this.

The small group kept walking, not too fast but also not slacking off, knowing that Tom's sibling was having a hard time keeping the gate open. Mike kept El's image behind him and continued to put one foot in front of the other, feeling his legs beginning to burn. They walked for what felt like hours, though the passage of time could barely be seen in this realm, with its constant darkness and almost suffocating pressure.

To their surprise, they remained undisturbed. No demogorgon or demodog came across them as they walked, nor did the being they dubbed the mind flayer make an appearance. Mike doubted that Kali would be able to hide them from it if it showed up, given its power and size so he crossed his fingers and hoped for the best as he picked up the pace.

"Dogs!" Tom suddenly whispered.

"Stand absolutely still." Kali ordered them and she began using her powers.

The dogs came closer still, their flower heads close to the ground as they sniffed for prey. Kali looked directly at them, feeling fear going through her body as she beheld the weirdness of those creatures, who still came closer.

"Is it working?" Mike whispered.

"I think they can smell us." Kali whispered back.

"Through our hazmat suits?" Mike wondered.

"Maybe they're smelling our equipment." Tom suggested and hefted his nail gun. "Mike, get ready."

Mike nodded and gripped his stun baton harder, hoping that it would be enough. The dogs continued to come closer until they were close enough that Mike could see their teeth between those flower petals that made up their heads. One came closer to him, its head moving left and right as if to look for the object that caused this strange smell. Tom pointed his nail gun at the dog further away, following it with his aim and waiting for Mike to make his move.

"Now!" Mike hissed and shoved the stun baton against the dog in front of him.

The dog yelped in surprise as Tom shot the other with his nail gun, hitting it right in the throat, the dog collapsing immediately. The one in front of Mike kept twitching, only stopping when Tom put a second nail into its head, causing it to finally lie still. They looked around, looking for more of them and when they couldn't find any, Kali stopped using her powers.

"What are you doing?" she asked when Tom lifted one of the dogs, using his strength to rip its head clean off.

"Hiding our scent." Tom replied and began rubbing the severed head along his hazmat suit.

"Good idea." Mike nodded and held up his arms so Tom could to the same with his suit.

"I can't believe I'm doing this." Kali almost gagged when Tom closed in on her with the severed head, letting the man rub it across her suit as well.

They started walking again, time going by. At some point, they started to feel the exhaustion set in and they all took one of their pills and ate an energy bar, downing all of it with several swigs of water from their canteens. After closing their suits again, they continued walking west, feeling refreshed as if they just had slept for ten hours.

"Wow, I need some of those pills in my life." Tom joked, feeling the effects.

"I doubt they're in any way healthy." Mike chuckled before hearing a low rumbling. "Do you feel that?"

"Earthquake?" Kali wondered, putting her hand on the ground.

"I don't think so." Mike shook his head.

"Lots of feed moving fast." Tom said, his own hand on the ground. "I stood on the side of a track when a dozen horses galloped past and it felt like that."

"There!" Mike pointed forward, seeing several dozen demodogs and even a few demogorgons coming closer.

"Shit!" Kali cursed and hid them with their powers. "Move behind that boulder!"

The trio hid behind the large rock, which was overgrown with vines like everything else in this realm seemed to be. For several minutes, they waited until the horde came close enough to make out its members, and Mike gasped at the amount of creatures. To their relief, the entire force sped past them, not a single dog even looking at them.

"That was lucky." Tom sighed in relief when they could see their backsides, Kali dropping her powers again to avoid getting too tired.

"I wonder where they are going." Kali mused.

"Maybe to the gate into our world that we opened?" Mike suggested.

"Shit, we should hurry." Tom cursed.

Filled with a sense of urgency, the three of them began walking west faster now, almost running. Tom gave no indication that the heavy bomb strapped to his back was tiring him out and followed Mike and Kali as they led the way. They again walked for what felt like hours but suddenly, Mike noticed a change in their surroundings, the sick trees getting more and more sparse before they were on what was essentially a steppe with a strange powder on the ground.

"I wonder what that is." Mike said, touching it.

"It's like ash." Tom nodded, picking some up.

"When the people in the lab were trying to contain the gate, they frequently used fire to keep the

tendrils at bay." Mike told them.

"So maybe the Russians are doing that too and even going into his place to do it?" Kali suggested.

"Which means, we should be near that gate." Tom nodded. "Guys, look around."

"There." Mike pointed to a dilapidated wall.

"That's the gate?" Kali wondered, looking at the small red spot.

"It feels the same like the one we went through." Mike nodded, sticking his fingers into the red, jelly-like mass. "We won't fit through there, though."

"Leave that to me." Tom smiled and punched the concrete wall around the red area, large chunks falling off.

Tom continued for several more minutes, creating a gateway large enough for them to walk through. Then he stuck his fingers into the hold and began to pull, his teeth clenching as he widened the gate from fist-sized to head-sized and making it larger and larger until he could pass through. Kali stepped through first, using her powers to hide herself but when she saw nobody in the room, she stopped using them once again and called for the others to come through.

"Alright, I'll hold the gate open." Tom said and took the bomb off his back. "Kali, you need to set the device while Mike goes out to find their friend."

"Okay." Mike nodded and moved towards the door while Kali placed the bomb on the machine and pressed a button, causing a spray of gas exiting it as Tom took up his place between the sides of the gate, preventing it from closing again.

Mike left the room and took off the helmet part of his hazmat suit to be able to hear noises around him. He quietly hurried along the hallway he found himself in until he reached an elevator and a stairway next to it. Since he didn't know what floor he had to go to, he stepped into the stairwell, moving up the stairs until he reached a door, which he opened slowly to peek through, only to find another hallway with several doors.

He continued on, climbing more floors until he reached a large open area with what looked like hundreds of doors close to each other. He surmised that this was the cell area where the prisoners were kept and he wondered how he was supposed to find Hopper, since looking into each cell through the small viewing slit was impossible in the time he had.

"кто ты?" came a question from a Russian guard. "что ты здесь делаешь?"

"Михаил Уилер." Mike replied to the question, simply using the Russian counterpart of his name and a free translation of his last. "Мне приказали получить американца."

"По чьим заказам?" came the next question, about who gave him the authority to get the prisoner.

"От генерала конечно." Mike replied, hoping that he had put enough exasperation into his voice that the Russian believed him. "Где он?"

"Подписывайтесь на меня." the soldier nodded and led Mike to the elevator, riding up three floors and after walking past several doors, during which Mike took out his stun baton, stopping at a particular one. "Мы здесь."

"Спасибо." Mike thanked him with a smile and rammed the stun baton against the soldier's chest, the man stiffing up and shaking before crumpling to the ground.

Mike rummaged through the guard's pockets until he found a set of keys, putting one into the lock after another until he had found the correct one. He unlocked the door and opened it, finding Hopper lying on a small bunk, his eyes closed. He gasped at his appearance, Hopper's former mass almost gone from lack of food and his face full of cuts and bruises.

"I found Hopper! He's awake but unresponsive." Mike whispered into his radio, Tom relaying the message to his twin who told the group.

"You need to inject him with the serum they gave you." came the relayed order through the speaker at his ear.

Wincing, Mike dug out the syringe from the pocket they had put it in and after a few seconds of hesitation and moving the fabric of the prison uniform aside and clearing the needle of air, he rammed it into Hopper's chest, hoping he did it right and pushed down the plunger until the barrel was empty. Hopper gasped for air and his head turned to Mike and then he started humming, his eyes going everywhere at first but then falling on his rescuer.

"You look like a boy I know." Hopper chuckled and his head rolled around.

"Guys, he's awake but not really able to get up." Mike said into the microphone attached to his helmet.

"Mike, you need to get his heart rate up, so the compound starts working." he heard after a few seconds.

"Hopper, get moving." Mike ordered, shaking the man, even slapping him.

"Five more minutes." Hopper moaned, mirroring what El often did when she was woken up too early.

"Get his heart rate up." Mike muttered and got an idea."Chief, can you hear me?"

"Mike, is that you?" Hopper asked, his eyes trying to focus on the tall boy in front of him.

"Chief, me and El are back together." Mike started, Hopper getting quiet as he listened to the words entering his ears. "And I took her virginity last Christmas. It was awesome. And since then, we've been doing it at least twice a day. We also restored your cabin and use it as a love shack. Doing it on every surface available, most often your lay-z-boy."

"Hrmph." Hopper growled, his eyes wide and his face turning red.

"Until three months ago that is. El got sick in the mornings and she missed her period and then we found out she's pregnant. But I don't think I can handle being a father at my age so I'm thinking of running away and... hrghl!" he suddenly stopped when a big hand closed around his throat and he felt his feet leaving the floor.

"I'm going to kill you!" a suddenly very awake and very furious Jim Hopper yelled as Mike tried to reach the Chief's wrist. "I'm going to rip off your fucking dick with my bare hands and feed it to you before I'll disembowel you with the rustiest knife I can find and then I..."

"Chief!" Mike wheezed and found the spot he was looking for, squeezing hard.

"OW!" Hopper cursed and let go of Mike, his hand suddenly numb.

"Chief, calm down!" Mike cursed.

"Calm down? You have the gall to tell me to calm down you little piece of..."

"Chief, El's not pregnant!" Mike shouted, causing Jim to stop. "And even if she were, I'd never leave her. I love her. But I needed to get you agitated and it worked. Now, can we get out of here?"

"We're going to talk about this later." Hopper threatened.

"Here, I think you know how to use this." Mike said and handed Hopper the bag he had carried all the way.

"Where did you get this?" Hopper asked when he found some clothes and a disassembled M-16 rifle with grenade launcher, which he quickly put together before taking the magazines and the three grenades, loading the rifle with each and packing the others away into his pockets after putting on the pants and jacket.

"We'll explain later." Mike pleaded. "Ready?"

"Ready." Hopper nodded. "You got a plan to get out of here?"

"We need to get down into the room with the gate." Mike said and looked into the hallway, finding it empty except for the still stunned guard.

"Did you do this?" Hopper asked, looking at the prone man.

"Yeah." Mike nodded, showing him the stun baton that he had used on the the man and shocking the prone guard once again for good measure.

"Hey Wheeler." Hopper said as they started walking.

"What is it?"

"When you said that what you told me was a joke, how much of it?" Hopper asked.

"I'm sorry?"

"You said she's not pregnant and you'd never leave her." Hopper clarified. "What about the rest?"

"Uh... we... uh... well, your cabin is still destroyed." Mike deflected. "We can talk about this later."

"Oh, we will." Hopper growled. "Right before I kill you!"

"Mike, are you there?" a voice from the helmet speaker startled them.

"Yes, Tom, we're on our way." Mike spoke back. "I got Hopper. Set the bomb timer."

"Get a move on, there are Russians in here and Kali is getting tired." Tom told him. "She set it to five minutes."

"Got it." Mike said and hurried on, leading Hopper into the elevator and hitting the lowest button from where they used the stairs again to reach the lowest level of the base.

Mike led Hopper into the hallway and their luck held until they reached the antechamber of the gate room where several Russians were milling around. Hopper mentioned for him to stay quiet and surveyed the scene, seeing five soldiers and a scientist in the chamber, the scientist talking to one of the soldiers and pointing to the monitors, shrugging his shoulders. Hopper had no idea what they were talking about but it probably had something to do with the dark-skinned girl he saw standing inside the chamber through the windows, who was wearing a hazmat suit as well and holding her arms up with blood trickling out of her nose.

He couldn't see the gate but he saw the girl opening her eyes, seeing them both and nodding. Mike got up and before Hopper could stop him, the boy he was going to kill soon mentioned for him to be quiet and started walking slowly towards the double doors leading into the room with the gate. Full of confusion he got up as well and followed Mike, walking as slow as possible but to his surprise, none of the soldiers reacted, even when Mike opened the door.

Once they were inside, Hopper was greeted by a scene of more Russian soldiers standing around, confused scientists and a man who looked like a bodybuilder in another hazmat suite holding a dimensional gate open with his hands while the dark-skinned girl mentioned them to move faster, sweat pouring from her head and blood dripping from her chin where it had collected from the droplets exiting her nose.

"Hurry!" she pleaded but as soon as Hopper and Mike were past her, she collapsed and it took about ten seconds for the Russian soldiers to react to the fact that there were four extra people in the room and the extra-dimensional gate they have tried to manipulate for years was actually open.

"Get your asses through the gate, we have thirty seconds!" Tom yelled from the gate and Hopper sprayed the room with bullets and a grenade while Mike picked up a barely conscious Kali and tried to push her through the dimensional portal.

The surviving Russian plus those who ran into the room began firing back, their bullets causing sparks when they hit a metallic surface or a crunch when they impacted on concrete. A pained yell made Hopper turn around and he saw Mike look at him with an expression of pain and confusion, three red spots appearing on his chest before his eyes glazed over and he stumbled backwards into the gate.

* * *

**I got a visit today again from that guy that I and most others hate. Cliff Hanger is now here again. And he might stay for a few... weeks.**

**Muahahahaha *evil laugh***

**But still...**

**Review please or Cliff Hanger will really stay for a few weeks :D**

**PS. I have no idea if my Russian is any good, my Russian language skills are school level and that was 21 years ago, otherwise it's all google translate ^^**


	22. Chapter 22

**Well, since the previous chapter got such a great response, I decided to kick out Cliff Hanger earlier than he expected. He wasn't happy though and promised that he'd return when I least expect it. But that took time away from the next chapter for my other story ^^  
**

**Kaltanasio: Yeah, I'm a despicable pig. I also eat like one :D :D :D**

**Flyingtuna: Didn't quite work out. But why three days? ^^ Had something planned on Friday? ;)**

**Guest: Did Mike stumble through the portal? Well, read the last sentence of the previous chapter: "A pained yell made Hopper turn around and he saw Mike look at him with an expression of pain and confusion, three red spots appearing on his chest before his eyes glazed over and he stumbled backwards into the gate." Is that too ambiguous?**

**The chapter starts where the last left off.**

**Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I write for my own pleasure and that of the readers.**

* * *

"MIKE!" Hopper yelled and ran, launching another grenade before jumping into the portal without getting hit and as soon as he was through, Tom let go and stepped backwards, the gate immediately beginning to close, a muffled thump indicating the explosion that came from the bomb they had placed on the machine and a gust of flame shooting through the small opening of the gate that was still there.

Hopper knelt down and ripped the upper part of the hazmat suit off of Mike, seeing the three bullet holes in his white shirt, surrounded by red spots. Cursing, he pressed his hand on the wound closest to the heart to stop the bleeding while trying to find a pulse. To his relief he found one, weak but there and he confirmed it by pressing his ears to Mike's chest, where a slight bubbling spoke of damage to the lungs as well.

The other guy fumbled in his pockets and retrieved a syringe and several pads, handing those to Hopper who pressed them onto the wounds before putting large bandaids over them to keep them in place.

"Don't you die on me now, Wheeler." Hopper growled. "I still need to kill you."

"We got Hopper but Mike's been shot." Tom said, Hopper wondering why the guy stated the obvious, not knowing that Tom had a twin currently in Hawkins hearing everything Tom said. "He's still alive but in bad shape."

"But not for long." Hopper said, knowing from his time in Vietnam how long someone can survive with wounds like this.

"They got Hopper but Mike's been shot." Tim repeated in Hawkins, eyes wide and Eleven let out a strangled cry her body moving automatically in an attempt to get up and dive into the Upside Down to get to him. "He's still alive but in bad shape."

"Jane!" Bryan yelled. "Concentrate."

Eleven didn't even try to keep the tears back, her mind conjuring up images of her love with bullets in his body and she almost let go of the efforts in her head. She wondered how the others were supposed to know where to go, now that he was probably unconscious. Despite that fact, she kept her eyes closed and screamed out for her love to return home to her.

"Who are you people?" Hopper asked, back in the Upside Down, the Russian gate now completely closed.

"Introductions later, we have to get back." the guy said and pointed to the girl. "Take her, I'll take care of Mike."

"I can carry him." Hopper said and attempted to lift him but before he could, the guy rammed the syringe into Mike's chest who opened his eyes wide and took in a deep breath. "Whoa!" Hopper gaped in shock at the sudden action.

"Huh...huh..." Mike suddenly sat up and breathed hard, his face contorting in pain for a moment and he looked around to find El's presence to guide him home. "I'm okay!"

"Kid, you're really not!" Hopper said and helped the girl to her feet who almost fell back down. "What now?"

"Follow me!" Mike yelled and set off at a run.

"Jesus, kid." Hopper cursed and threw the girl over his shoulder before following Mike. "What the hell did you give him?"

"Epinephrine, lots of it." the guy said and ran as well. "We need him."

"For what?"

"He and Jane are connected, he sees her like a ship sees a lighthouse in the dark." the guy explained while running. "Without him, we'll be lost. I'm Tom, by the way."

"Jim." Hopper nodded and felt his muscles start to burn, given that he was carrying the girl. "Who is she?"

"Her name is Kali." Tom replied. "She's Jane's sister. I'm their brother."

"What?" Jim was confused.

"We'll explain when we're back." Tom promised. "But for now, run."

"Do you have another syringe for her?" he asked, panting. "I can't run fast for long with her on my shoulders."

"Here." Tom nodded and pulled another one out, Hopper setting down Kali so Tom could ram the syringe into her chest as well.

"SHIT!" Kali cursed as her eyes shot open. "What happened?"

"Less talking, more running!" Tom told her and they set off again, trying to catch up to Mike who ran as if his life depended on it, which it actually did given that he still had three bullets in his chest and the only person who could save his life was in Hawkins.

Hopper had no idea how long they had been running for when he heard the telltale sounds of Demogorgons or the dog versions of them in the distance. Kali looked around, the fear written on her face and Hopper tried to discern the direction of where the howls were coming from. At that moment, Mike gave out an exultant yell and drifted leftwards where Hopper saw a red dot in the distance, the same he had seen before he had climbed into a Russian prison camp.

"We're close to the gate." Tom said, again stating the obvious. "Get ready, it could become hot, creatures are on their way."

"They're close." Tim relayed. "Get ready everyone, it could get messy."

Around them, the group readied their weapons, all of them still unused to the weapons that weren't guns, despite their training and the news that their friend had been shot was messing with their concentration as well. Funshine hefted the largest weapon, a long pipe with the harpoon sticking out of it while Mick held the replacement harpoons. Next to them, Axel and Dottie held their crossbows with long steel-tipped bolts, the mohawk sporting man visibly shaking with nervousness but determined not to show his fear in front of those teenagers who were also showing signs of fear but no indication that they would run away. He could never live down that embarrassment and the others wouldn't ever let him forget it either.

Will especially was shaking, his fear of encountering the mind flayer or his minions almost making him run away, with only his loyalty to his friends and the strength of his family around him keeping him in place. Above them, Lucas, Max, Dustin, Steve and Robin had set up position, the same weapons in their hands and pointed at the gate. All of them still marveled at the fact that they knew how to use them, the strange ability that Bryan had displayed giving them the knowledge to operate these weapons.

"Come on guys." Dustin pleaded and in that moment, the first howl came through the gate. "Shit!"

The gate pulsed once, twice and a third time before a demodog exited, followed by a second and a third before a fully grown Demogorgon came out, screaming. Tim, up from where he was standing and holding the gate open, tried to appear as innocuous as possible to prevent the monsters from noticing him. Axel screamed in terror and shot his crossbow, missing by a mile, while Dottie hit her target, skewering one of the dogs as the two others bounded up the walls.

The group shot but only Joyce hit one, the other still jumping upwards and finally onto the gantry, hissing at the teenagers trying to get away. Dustin screamed when the demodog jumped towards but before it could impact, it was violently dragged away. On the ground, El held out her hands and screamed, ripping the dog apart and her display of powers got the attention of the Demogorgon who began stomping towards her.

Funshine pulled the trigger and let the harpoon fly, hitting the monster in its sides and nailing it into the wall where it stopped moving. With a whoop of triumph, Mick reloaded the pipe as the others put new bolts onto their crossbows. More howling came from the gate and a dozen more dogs came out, the place erupting in pandemonium. This time more prepared, every group shot as one, a wall of bolts slamming into the tightly packed dogs who all got hit, most dying on the spot and only two moving slowly away, bolts sticking out of their bodies. Everybody quickly reloaded and Jonathan killed one of the two surviving dogs, Axel finally finding his courage and slaying the other one, whooping in exultation.

Another demogorgon came screaming out of the gate, Funshine immediately firing his harpoon, hitting it directly into its mouth since the petals were still open. It fell backwards into the gate, its feet still in the real world and another horde of demodogs came through. Although the team tried another volley shot, only half of the dogs were hit, the other half running into the middle of the room towards El but Bryan stood ready to defend her, brandishing two curved blades, one in each hand.

As if he was calling them to him, the dogs took a run at the man. While the group was trying to reload and shoot at dogs without hitting the agent, Bryan began whirling in place, his weapons appearing to be everywhere at once. Dogs were dying left and right, some cut open, others having limbs or their heads chopped off. The whole encounter took less than two minutes but at the end, Bryan was breathing heavily, his display of swordsmanship very taxing to his body, his clothes covered with the blood of the dogs.

More dogs came out, the group shooting again but hitting only a few, the others bounding up the walls or running at Bryan again. The CIA agent killed his adversaries in quick succession but the others had trouble hitting the dogs that were running up the walls. One jumped on the upper gantry and screamed at the people kneeling there. Robin, who was closest to it trying to turn her crossbow on it but it jumped at her before she could pull the trigger.

"NO!" Steve screamed and pushed her to the side, Robin barely able to stop herself from rolling off of the gantry and the dog landed on Steve, who quickly grabbed two of the flower leaves that made up is head to keep its mouth away from him as it tried to bite him.

Steve screamed in pain as the dog's claws ripped through his shirt and into his skin. Robin scrambled up and grabbed Steve's nail bat, screaming herself as she slammed it into the dog's head, the animal becoming quiet when one of the nails bored into its brain. Robin gave it two more whacks before the dog collapsed on Steve, its lifeblood dripping on his clothes and skin, mixing with his own blood before he managed to push it off himself.

"Oh my god, Steve." Robin screamed, seeing Steve on the floor covered in blood. "Don't die on me, I love you!"

"Wha...?" Steve looked at her in confusion as he tried to fight himself to a sitting position. "I thought you liked girls."

"I did and still do but I've begun to feel the same for you." she cried but noticed that he wasn't expiring like she thought. "Aren't you dying?"

"No, most of the blood is from it." he pointed to the carcass.

"Uh... I..." Robin blushed hard, currently forgetting that they were in a battle for their lives.

"Hey mom and dad!" Dustin brought them back from their private conversation. "Resolve those sexual tensions later, there are more dogs here!"

"Right." Robin nodded, still shedding tears and hefted her crossbow again, seeking a target and finding one close to them, quickly dispatching it with another bolt while the others killed the remaining dogs.

More loud howling announced the arrival of more creatures and to everyone's dismay, a new horde of dogs came through the gate, along with several fully grown gorgons. Bryan screamed at the others over their howling to concentrate on the big ones as the dogs were all running towards El and Bryan as he began moving again with his blades swinging, skewering more and more dogs. For everyone, Bryan's feat was almost impossible to behold, something the boys only knew from movies where scenes like that were rehearsed for months but the CIA agent was almost dancing around El's pedestal, not allowing any dog to get up to where she was sitting.

"They're almost here!" Tim shouted from his spot half inside the gate.

Another wave of dogs come through the gate, Bryan sighing in exasperation and trying to lift the blades again. This time, none of the dogs even tried to get onto the gantries, all of them making a straight line to El. Everybody shot at the dogs, all of the bolts hitting a target since it was impossible to miss the packed creatures but only a few fell. Bryan lifted his blades, sweat running down his face but just as the first dog was about to jump at him, the entire pack stopped dead in their tracks and lifted into the air. Bryan looked behind him and saw El holding out her arms, her face contorted in a deep rage at those creatures, her concern about the man she loved fueling her powers and with a scream, she ripped every single dog apart, their fleshy remains flopping wetly to the ground.

To everyone's relief, Mike came finally jumping through the gate, bandages over his chest which were already bled through. Shortly after him came Kali, quickly followed by Hopper and Tom whose appearance signaled Tim to let go of the gate. As he stepped forward, the gate began to close rapidly, Hopper turning around and firing his last grenade through it before it closed fully, a loud thump followed by screams telling everyone present what had almost followed the team out, the legs of the demogorgon that had fallen backwards into it cut off from its body now.

The few injured but still alive creatures in the room collapsed immediately, their connection to the Upside Down now severed and Marcus entered the room, taking one of Bryan's blades and beheading every dog that hadn't been killed yet in case another temporary gate opened. Bryan collapsed in exhaustion, falling softly on the collected carcasses of the dogs around him and took several deep breaths before fighting to get back on his feet.

"Mike!" El screamed, jumping up and down from the pedestal before running to the man she loved, hugging him tightly.

"Argh!" Mike screamed in pain, causing El to let him go immediately.

"They said you were shot, I thought you died." El cried heavy tears.

"I'm fine." Mike panted hard but before he could say anything else, he bent over and coughed up large amounts of blood, followed by him collapsing to the floor, not breathing.

"MIKE!" El let out a bloodcurdling scream and fell down to her knees, right at his side.

"Out of the way." Bryan shouted and pulled El away from him, making room for Brandon who had entered the room after keeping himself out of the fight.

"NO, I NEED TO BE AT HIS SIDE!" El cried but even Hopper helped holding her back.

Brandon ripped the bandages off of Mike's wounds and pressed his hands against his chest. He let his talent work, his consciousness feeling as if he was shrinking to go inside the wound, seeing the bullet sticking against the inside of Mike's upper spine, having ripped through the lungs to lodge in the bone, having narrowly missed one of the discs.

In his mind, he kept pressure on the heart to keep it pumping while also inflating and deflating the right lung to keep the oxygen flowing to avoid brain damage. Still in his minds eye, he put forceps around the bullet and began pulling. The tissue that the bullet left behind began knitting together, the tiny chunks of bone from his spine reattaching themselves and the hole in the back of his left lung closing while he pulled the bullet through the soft tissue.

The hole in the front of the lung also began closing as soon as the bullet was out as well as the damage that the jagged edges of the bullet caused in the canal as he pulled it slowly out of Mike's chest. Everyone was gasping wide-eyed at what they were seeing, watching the bullet closest to Mike's heart slowly move out of his body until it jumped away, landing with a metallic clang on the floor. El could barely believe her eyes when the wound closed and Mike took a gasping breath in, his eyes fluttering open and his face contorting in pain.

"Mike!" El yelled and tried to get to him again but Hopper kept holding her back.

"Let him work." Hopper said in a low voice to get her to calm down.

"Bite on this." Brandon said to Mike, holding a leather strap against his mouth, the doctor already tired from the ordeal that had felt like he had run long distance while only two minutes had passed.

"Why?" Mike groaned, still feeling extreme pain.

"Because this will hurt." Brandon explained, already breathing hard himself. "Badly."

"Kid, if you need to scream, scream." Tom knelt down, patting his uninjured shoulder and pressing it down to prevent Mike from moving too much, while Bryan did the same on his legs. "Nobody will think less of you."

Nodding his head, Mike bit on the strap, waiting for Brandon to get to work. Now that he was awake, he could feel it when the first of the two bullets left in him began moving outwards, following the same path it had taken when going in. Its ragged edges cut against the flesh inside him and he started whimpering, biting on the strap hard enough to leave deep imprints of his teeth in it. He managed until the first bullet was halfway out before he spit out the strap and began to scream.

While El cried heavy tears with him, feeling every bit of his pain, his friends all covered their ears, unable to listen to him screaming in agony. Even Kali's friends couldn't watch or listen, Mick pushing her head against Funshine's chest while Dottie crashed against Axel's body, the bigger man surprised by the action but holding her nonetheless while at the same time trying to block out what they were hearing.

It took Brandon almost eight minutes until the two remaining bullets were out and another two to heal the wounds Mike had sustained. The pain finally stopping, Mike started crying tears of relief, having never felt pain like this. Brandon got up and almost fell backwards, only not falling down because of Tim standing behind and catching him.

Tom laid him gently down to the floor where Brandon breathed hard as if he had just ran a marathon, Tim grabbing a tissue and wiping away the blood seeping from the man's nose and ears. Mike fought himself upright and stopped crying, running his hand over the area where the bullets had hit and wincing when he touched them.

"It will hurt sporadically." Brandon said from his prone position. "You're completely healed and you won't have any lasting problems apart from the occasional pinch from when they hit you."

"Go." Hopper said to El who jumped against Mike like he was a buoy in the ocean and she was drowning.

"You're alive!" she cried, hugging him tightly.

"Yeah, I'm here." he sighed in relief, holding her like he never wants to let her go again, tears running down his face again at feeling her. "I promised I'd be back with Hopper even if it killed me, didn't I?"

"Not funny." El chuckled, tears still running down her face.

"Let us hug him too." Dustin interrupted them, having come down from the gantries.

As El made room for everyone to welcome Mike back in the land of the living, Joyce had another target in mind. Walking slowly towards Hopper, as if fearing he might disappear again, she stopped when he turned towards her. With tears falling down her face, she took the last three steps, wrapping her arms around the large man's body and crying into his shirt.

"I'm so glad that you're alive." she sobbed and Hopper hugged her back, despite the fact that he too was in great pain from his long ordeal.

"Me too." Hopper held her tight, despite the pain it caused him.

"Let me take a look at you." the man who had healed Mike approached them. "I'm Brandon, by he way."

"Jim." Jim shook his hand. "Thanks for saving Mike."

"My pleasure." Brandon nodded. "Open your shirt, please."

"What for?" Jim asked, but still pulled at the ripped seams of his prison uniform.

"So I can examine you for injuries and heal those that are more than superficial." Brandon explained and put his hand over Jim's heart, closing his eyes as he did so.

"Do you feel something?" Joyce asked Jim as she watched the man's hand on her friend's chest.

"Not really, except the warmth of his hand." Jim shrugged.

"Alright, you had a few cracked and two broken ribs that didn't heal properly, otherwise, all your other injuries are superficial, so time will heal them." Brandon told him. "If you like, I can fix your ribs tomorrow, after I finished recuperating from healing Mike."

"Will it hurt?" Jim asked.

"A lot." Brandon nodded. "I'll have to break your ribs again to put them back together properly and you will feel that pain."

"What if I kept my ribs as they are now?" Jim wanted to know.

"You will have pinching pains for the rest of your life." Brandon shrugged. "Your choice."

"Alright, lets do that tomorrow." Jim agreed, nodding.

"You, come here." Brandon pointed to Steve, who had been standing on the side, Robin's arms around him as if she was trying to keep him from disappearing or collapsing. "Let me have a look at you."

"Okay." Steve nodded and lifted his shirt, Brandon putting his hand on Steve's chest as well.

"The cuts are deep and you got an infection." Brandon said. "Try not to bite your tongue."

"Why would I?" Steve asked but then began screaming in pain when he felt his wounds burn as if someone had pushed a flaming hot fireplace poker against every inch of his skin, the feeling going away again after roughly ten seconds. "What did you do?!"

"I burned the infection away." Brandon panted, almost collapsing again, the few seconds of treatment still taxing. "We still need to clean and bandage the wounds, so take the shirt and your pants off and lay down on the cot in the antechamber.

Steve did as he was told and walked into the other room, taking off his pants and shirt and laying down on the cot that Brandon had pointed to. Robin's eyes roamed across his body and Steve saw her looking, his confusion about her statement still rushing through his mind, though he had known from the beginning that Robin was a beautiful girl.

Brandon joined them and took his medical kit, opening and laying out gauze and several rolls of bandages along with a medicinal stapler to keep the bandages on. Brandon sprayed iodine on the wounds to clean them, Steve hissing in pain when the liquid entered his wounds and put gauze on it before pressing bandages on them and holding them in place with adhesive tape while doing the same with Steve's leg wounds but there he rolled bandages around his thighs and using the stapler to keep them in place.

"People, I have secured a house for us to sleep in, at least for those who don't live here." Bryan began when everyone had come back into the large room, several more agents in suits appearing outside the antechamber.

As the CIA team began securing the gate room, the herded the group out of the room. Kali wasn't sure if she and her friends should go along but ever since the epinephrine shot had begun to wear off, she felt extremely tired, unable to use her powers to hide them all so they could flee. With some apprehension, they piled into the vehicles but to her relief, the agents put her friends into different cars with Jane's friends, indicating that they wouldn't haul them off to jail.

They traveled for half an hour, driving into and through town before ending up on the other side of it, a few miles away from the children's home. They all piled out of the vehicles, the agent who had introduced himself as Marcus leading the way to the building, which he opened and entered first, revealing a clean room with somewhat stale air.

"You may wanna open the windows." Marcus told them. "This is a house that belonged to the lab before we took it over but it hasn't been aired since the lab has been closed."

"We can live with that." Funshine said, opening all the windows in the living room.

"The rooms are furnished, there are five bedrooms. You may have to double up in the beds, though." Marcus remarked.

"No problem." El smiled and wrapped her arms around Mike.

"You could come with me to my house." Mike offered.

"I think you should hold off on that for tonight." Marcus interjected. "Your parents may wonder why you come back feeling like you've been shot and there will be a lot of questions when news of Mister Hopper's reappearance spreads."

"Right." Mike nodded. "Our cover story is camping, so we should be good."

"We've brought your tents, sleeping bags and air mattresses." Marcus told them. "So, some of you could sleep in the backyard, if you want. It's secluded, so if anybody walks by the house, they shouldn't see the tents."

"We don't have a tent." Steve said. "Dustin didn't tell me about the camping cover story when he called me to the meeting."

"You can take Mike's." El told him. "I don't think he should sleep on an air mattress tonight."

"Thanks." Steve smiled at her. "Robin, wanna help me put the tent up?"

"Sure." Robin nodded and left with Steve through the back door.

"We're gonna put ours up as well." Lucas said and left with Max, Will and Dustin.

"We're going to sleep in my tent as well." Nancy nodded, pointing to her packed tent, since her cover story was chaperon for the kids.

"Mike, drink this." an appearing Brandon handed him a bottle.

"What is it?" Mike asked.

"It's basically a cleaning compound to flush the remains of those pills you took out of your body." the doctor explained.

"Are they that bad?" Mike wondered and took a sip, spitting it back out. "Jesus, that tastes vile."

"I know, but down it anyway." Brandon chuckled. "Don't worry, at least it doesn't have an aftertaste."

"God." Mike winced and downed the bottle in four swigs, feeling the urge to vomit for several seconds before the feeling disappeared. "Hey, the rotten egg taste is gone!"

"Tell me about it." Kali shuddered as she entered, heading straight for the couch. "I thought I'd have to hurl."

"I'm going to need a lot of beer to forget that taste." Tom shook himself as if trying to shake the memory loose.

"So, how do we sort out the sleeping arrangements?" Tim asked.

"I guess the couch in this room is spoken for." Tom chuckled, pointing to the piece of furniture where everyone could see Kali out like a light, the exhaustion of their ordeal finally catching up with her.

"Me and Mike only need one bed." El stated.

"I can sleep on a chair if I have to." Axel said.

"We're going to head into a motel." Bryan interjected, pointing to Marcus. "We'll be back tomorrow morning with some breakfast for everyone."

"I'll take the couch in the room over there." Hopper pointed to the door to their left. "There's also another cot in there."

"I'll take that one." Joyce threw in.

"Then I guess we'll take some of the upper bedrooms." Mick shrugged.

"I need a bed as well, I desperately need a proper sleep so I can heal Jim's ribs tomorrow." Brandon stated and went upstairs, choosing a room with a single bed.

"That leaves us six." Tom said, looking at his twin and the four friend of Kalis.

"Then lets hope the three rooms have either king sized or twin beds, otherwise, Axel really might have to sleep on a chair." Funshine joked and the group went upstairs where they saw El and Mike enter the bedroom on the far end of the upper hallway.

Outside, the rest of the group had finished erecting their tents and were sitting on foldout stools and eating the remains of the food they had brought, enjoying the mild night. Steve was wincing frequently, the pain from his deep scratch wounds getting pronounced every time he moved the wrong way.

"This has probably been the weirdest day of my life." Robin said.

"Weirder than battling a giant flesh monster that consisted of the liquefied remains of people we knew?" Nancy chuckled.

"A bit, yeah." Robin nodded. "I had knowledge of using a crossbow directly put into my brain, I watched people walking into a wall, only to return a day later with someone we believed dead and seen more people do some impressive feats followed by strange creatures pouring into the room we were in with one almost killing me."

"When I saw Mike collapse with three bullet holes in his chest, I thought he was dead." Dustin said quietly.

"I can't imagine how El felt in that moment." Max sighed. "I mean, I watched my stepbrother die and I didn't like him very much in the first place but it still hurt after he somewhat redeemed himself to save El. But losing someone you really love?"

"Good thing that doctor guy was there." Will threw in.

"The question is, what will happen now?" Lucas wondered. "I mean, the chief was seen as dead by everyone, how do we explain his reappearance?"

"I'm sure that the CIA agents will think of a reason in regards to Hopper." Jonathan shrugged.

"And will El stay with him here in Hawkins again?" Dustin added.

"I doubt El will agree to ever leave Mike again, not after what happened." Max shrugged.

"Well, I'm beat, I'm hitting the sack." Will yawned and crawled into the second sleeping bag in Dustin's tent.

"Us too." Lucas stretched himself. "Firing that crossbow really hurt my shoulder."

"Ugh, wuss." Max scoffed and followed Lucas into his tent.

"Night mom, night dad." Dustin waved to Robin and Steve.

"Night, son." Steve waved back. "You're still an ingrate."

"Still miffed that I took her advice for dating?" Dustin grinned, pointing at Robin.

"No." Steve moped. "Ingrate."

"Love you, daddy." Dustin laughed and blew him an air kiss before climbing into his tent.

"So, what exactly is this mom and dad thing?" Jonathan asked, feeling out of the loop.

"For some reason, he and Dustin bonded and he gave Dustin hair style advice." Robin explained. "And we all had that thing with the Russians last year, so me and Steve somehow became mom and dad."

"Is that why Dustin appeared at the snow ball with that ridiculous hairstyle?" Nancy laughed.

"Screw you too." Steve huffed. "His hair was great."

"Sure it was." Jonathan chuckled. "We're heading into bed as well."

"Night, guys." Robin waved at them and looked at Steve, once they were alone. "So."

"So." Steve nodded. "I think we should talk."

"Yeah." Robin looked away, feeling a blush come on at the memory of her confession.

"Lets head into the tent, I'd feel better if there's at least one more layer between us and them." Steve pointed to the other tents. "Also, I need to lie down."

"Lets." Robin nodded and got up from her chair.

For all the confusion Steve still felt about Robin, he couldn't help but stare at her ass when she got on all fours to crawl into the tent.

* * *

**I think this is the first time in all my writing since 2012 that I've written a chapter without a line break indicating a time jump ^^**

**Review please :)**


	23. Chapter 23

**Sorry, this took so long. This chapter will probably feel a bit disjointed as it was written over several weeks.**

**In the last chapter of my other Stranger Things story I wrote in the author's note that I had a persistent couch which bugged the hell out of me. Went to my doctor and since then, I'm fighting a persistent respiratory illness which is getting a bit better now but I'm still hampered by the headaches that come from the shaking my body experiences during coughing fits. And at night, when I'm horizontal, I feel pressure on my chest as if someone is sitting on it, and not in the good way -.-**

**Again, direct continuation from the last chapter.**

**Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I write for my own pleasure and that of the readers.**

* * *

Before laying down on the couch he had chosen, Hopper felt his skin begin to itch all over and decided to head into the bathroom, seeing the shower and, to his relief, found an old soap dispenser bottle on the sink and some very stiff towels, taking all of it before taking off his clothes and stepping into the shower stall, letting the water run down his body.

He took a deep breath and winced, the pain in his ribs prevalent and making him validate his decision to have his bones fixed by that doctor guy the next morning. He tried to block out the memories of the things he had been subjected to, the beatings of the Russian guards when they did their sleep deprivation torture, then the food that caused him diarrhea for two weeks, more beatings and then the drugs they pumped into his body to get the truth that they wanted to hear but that he couldn't give them.

He could scarcely belief that it was over now. That he was back in his hometown, the woman he had kinda fallen for sleeping on the cot close to the couch he had chosen and his adoptive daughter upstairs with her boyfriend.

Boyfriend. That word stung Hopper more than he wanted to admit to himself. Mike was a boy of two sides. One the one side, Hopper had to admit that he was the best thing that could happen to his little girl. He was kind, he was honest, he was loyal to a fault and would take a bullet for his friends. Hopper chuckled at that thought, since Mike had literally taken three bullets for him during the rescue.

On the other hand, during their dating before, Mike had turned into an obnoxious jerk, disrespectful to him because of whatever caused him to be like that. Maybe it was smugness that he had gotten the girl of his dreams, maybe something else. Finally dry and dressed again, he returned into the room and got down on the couch.

Hours later, Hopper lay in bed, trying to sleep but he still felt the phantom pain of the beatings he received during his incarceration and all the new information he got since being freed didn't help with calming his mind. Not only was Eleven not the only one, something he did suspect given that she was numbered eleven but he had been surprised at how many of them there still were and how somewhat normal lives they lived. How Joyce was able to sleep in the cot on the other side of the room was beyond him.

The guy with the 001 on his arm was a CIA agent for crying out loud and also with an apparently pretty big influence in the agency given what he had provided. The girl Eleven had gone to when she had run away was the eighth. Three and four, those freakish twins. Six, that doctor who saved Mike's life with a touch after he had gotten shot.

And of course, the biggest bombshell. His little girl, his Jane, was having sex already. With the Wheeler kid, of all people. Then again, the kid did love her unconditionally and he saved his life, which gave him some points, at least enough for Hopper not to kill him outright. His thoughts still whirling, he started hearing a rhythmic squeaking, and after figuring out the direction from which it came from, his face turned red but given the tragedy that had almost transpired, he knew it would have happened anyway. He had just hoped that he weren't in the same house when it happened.

"Jesus, kids." he cursed after turning to his side, seeing the large 2:01 on the digital clock illuminated by the moonlight. "Why can't you sleep like normal people?"

He wrapped the pillow around his head and held it tight. He had no idea why those sounds were transmitted so clearly, maybe the pipes running through the house did it. Or it was because he knew who was doing it and his brain couldn't stop him from hearing those sounds more clearly, given that he needed to keep up his determination to kill the kid in the morning. Or at least put the fear of god into him. He closed his eyes and tried to ignore the squeaking that chimed every second.

Which was exceedingly hard. It was like a clock ticking at night. With no other sounds around him, all he could hear was squeak, squeak, squeak. Once per second. Again and again and again. Never slowing down, never speeding up. He cursed under his breath, pushing his fingers into his ears and breathing hard, trying to extinguish the flames of fatherly rage burning inside him at least to stop himself from running up there.

"Mike saved my life. He got shot because of me. He loves her and she loves him. Mike saved my life. He got shot because of me. He loves her and she loves him. Mike saved my life. He got shot because of me. He loves her and she loves him." He kept that mantra going in his head, desperately trying to conjure images of the Wheeler kid not doing his daughter but of them jumping on the bed for fun. He opened his eyes and looked at the clock again, the numbers now showing 2:32. "Jesus, kids!"

What the hell was wrong with these two? Did Wheeler eat batteries for lunch? Despite the fact that he still wanted to kill him, his masculine side couldn't help being impressed. As he pondered the ways he could end Mike's life without Jane knowing, the squeaking suddenly sped up, making him groan. When he heard a yell, knowing exactly what it was, he wanted to throw up but finally, the squeaking stopped and the night became quiet again.

With a relieved sigh, Hopper closed his eyes and finally managed to fall asleep. Sleep first, killing Mike later. That sentiment was severely tested when something startled him awake. He oriented himself, looking at the wall clock again and barely making out the time. 4:17. With darkness still reigning, only slightly combated by the porch lamp, Hopper looked around and saw no one, then he strained his ears to find the source of his sudden awakening.

He was just about to settle back into the pillows again when he heard it. A cough, almost like a gag as if someone was choking. Then a giggle. Then another giggle, deeper this time. And another giggle, the same pitch as the first but followed by a quiet moan.

"You've got to be kidding me!" he cursed under his breath and desperately wished that he wouldn't hear a certain sound once again tonight.

No such luck for him of course. Only twenty seconds later, the squeaking returned, slower this time but definitely there. It was interspersed with more giggles, more moans and a momentary yelp, clearly from a female. Hopper felt almost like he wanted to cry, completely disbelieving of what his adopted daughter was doing at such a young age.

"Hopper, go to sleep." Joyce whined sleepily, being woken up by his talking.

"I'm trying." Hopper retorted. "They don't make it easier for me."

"How do you know it's El and Mike?"

"I heard them talking before they settled down." Hopper told her.

"Ugh, you overthink this, let them have their fun." Joyce counseled him.

"Easy for you to say, she's not your daughter." Hopper growled but immediately regretted it upon realizing what he had said when he saw Joyce's body sit up straight in the bed.

"Hop, first of all, she's not your real daughter either." Joyce said seriously. "And remember, I took her in after you disappeared and she was my daughter for almost as long as she was yours."

"Joyce, I'm sorry." Hopper apologized. "But they're just fifteen!"

"So?" Joyce shrugged. "I was fifteen when I lost my virginity."

"But what if she gets pregnant?" Hopper was adamant. "In that cell in Russia, Mike said that he knocked her up and that he was thinking about running away. Admittedly, it was a lie to get me angry but still..."

"Hop, I put her on the pill." Joyce tried to calm him. "And even if it were to happen, do you really think Mike would leave her? The boy adores the ground she's walking on."

"Having a child at sixteen can change a lot of things." Hopper pointed out.

"Believe me, I know." Joyce said quietly. "I've seen some of my childhood friends in those situations."

"And how did they end up?"

"Some split from the fathers of their babies, some stayed together and later married. One was even kicked out by her parents for keeping the child." Joyce told him. "Sure, having a baby at such a young age can be a burden, but again, I highly doubt Mike would leave her."

"Joyce..." Hopper tried.

"Can we continue with this talk in the morning?" Joyce was getting exasperated. "I'm tired and I need sleep."

"Okay." Hopper consented and settled back down, the quiet in the room making the noises coming from the room above more pronounced again.

He kept thinking the same mantra in his head he had used before, telling himself that Mike had walked through the Upside Down to save his life, had gotten shot and almost died because of it and that he would never do something to his little girl that she didn't want, mainly because she would snap his neck if he tried.

However they were doing it this time thankfully didn't last as long as the last and after slightly less than twenty minutes, silence reigned again. Almost with tears of relief, Hopper settled back again and fell into blissful oblivion. His mouth twitched into a smile when he dreamed of how he threw Mike from the cliff into the quarry, shouting at him how he'll never violate his little girl again.

* * *

El sat up quickly, her breathing hard and tears springing from her eyes. Her mind was still filled with the images from her dream, her Mike bowling over, spitting blood and collapsing to the floor where he stopped breathing. She looked to her left, seeing the boy she loved sleeping soundly, only part of his face and hair visible from under the covers.

Calming down and wiping her tears, she laid back down and shuffled closer to him, just feeling his skin on hers and laying her head on his chest, hearing the soothing beats of his heart that told her that he was still here, still alive. With a smile, she thought about the night, where they had reaffirmed his survival, more than once.

"Good morning." his voice made her open her eyes again.

"Hey." she smiled warmly at him, looking into his eyes and moving her body the last three inches so she could kiss him.

"Have you been crying?" he asked, seeing her red eyes.

"Bad dream." she nodded.

"About?"

"You." she sighed. "I watched you die. Again."

"My love, I didn't die." he argued. "That doctor guy healed me."

"But if he hadn't been there, you would have died." she shot back, more tears forming in her eyes. "I saw three bullets coming out of you."

"I know." he sighed, running his finger over the spots where the wounds had been, feeling the pinch that the doctor had predicted. "But I'm alive. I'm here. And we won't ever have to go to Russia again."

"I hope so." she nodded. "But if we ever did, I'll come with you."

"I love you." he smiled at her loyalty and determination. "Now please let go of me, I need to pee."

"Yeah, I feel so loved." she huffed sarcastically but had to admit that he had a point.

While he waited for him to return so she could use the bathroom too, she got dressed in her clothes from the day before. Around her, she could hear the rest of the group awakening, people talking and Axel's distinct mocking tone reverberating through the house. She quickly hurried to the bathroom, waiting there for Mike to emerge to avoid anyone going in there before here and felt validated when Kali, Mick and Dottie appeared, also getting in line.

"I think I'll check the other bathrooms." Mick said and left again, Dottie following her.

"Morning." Kali grinned at El. "Slept well?"

"Yes, very." El nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed by Kali's grin.

"I bet you did." Kali winked as the door opened and Mike appeared. "Morning stud."

"What?" Mike looked confused.

"Ignore her." El moped and went into the bathroom, quickly shutting the door.

"You guys aren't that quiet." Kali winked at him.

"Oh god." Mike groaned, palming his face.

"Yeah, I heard those words a few times, from both of you." Kali giggled.

"I'm gonna go now." Mike took a deep breath and quickly walked away.

He returned into the bedroom he had shared with his girlfriend and put his pants and sweater back on, rummaging in his bag for a comb to get his unruly hair at least a bit under control. He looked out the window and saw the semi circle of tents where his friends were apparently still sleeping. His stomach was rumbling and he wondered if they should simply leave now or wait for the two agents to return.

"What are you thinking?" El asked, entering the room again and stepping behind him to wrap her arms around his waist and rest her head against his back.

"Right now, I'm thinking of food." he chuckled.

"Yeah, I'm hungry too." she agreed. "Kali heard us last night."

"If she heard us from the couch she fell asleep on, I wonder how many of the others heard us." he shuddered. "Especially the chief."

"Don't worry, I'll protect you." she giggled and took his hand. "Come on, lets see if we can get something to drink.

Meanwhile, Hopper had woken up as well, on his own this time and not by the noises of his fifteen year old adoptive daughter having sex with her equally fifteen year old boyfriend. He gave the still sleeping Joyce a smile before heading into one of the bathrooms on this floor, wincing as he tried to take a deep breath, his ribs again bothering him. Once he was done in the kitchen, he walked into the kitchen.

"Mike, can we talk?" Hopper asked the boy when he found him standing in the kitchen, El right beside him. "Alone."

"Oh no." El quickly interjected and protectively wrapped her arms around her sweetie. "You will not do this again."

"Do what?" Hopper asked his daughter.

"Scare him into avoiding me and lying to me until I break up with him." El stated, squinting her eyes at her dad.

"You told her then." Hopper chuckled. "Don't worry honey, it's not that. I just wanna have a talk."

"Fine." El nodded. "But if he comes back and tells me his grandma is sick, I'm flinging you through the wall."

"Duly noted." Hopper couldn't help but chuckle at her determination.

"So, what's going on, chief?" Mike asked after they are alone behind the house.

"First of all, I heard you last night." Hopper began. "Both times."

"Last night?" Mike asked, trying to obfuscate. "What do you mean?"

"It was two in the morning and you two were having sex. And then again after four." Hopper stated but stopped Mike from talking when he saw him breathing in. "Don't try to deny it, I know how it sounds. The bed springs aren't silent and neither are you. Or her."

"Oh god." Mike groaned.

"Listen, you two are fifteen, it's pretty early to have sex already, wouldn't you say?" Hopper looked at him.

"Chief, I love your daughter and she loves me, I don't see what the problem is." Mike threw up his arms.

"You're not experienced, what if..."

"We use protection! Joyce put her on the pill." Mike interrupted him. "If there's one thing we make sure, it's always that. El got the speech from Joyce and I got it from Nancy. And Steve. I don't see why you are so mad. Aren't you glad that El is happy?"

"Kid, do you know why I did what I did the first time?" Jim looked at him. "Why I forced you to stay away?"

"Because you didn't like me?" Mike asked.

"Kid, when I thought about guys to date my girl, you were on top of the list." Jim chuckled. "You are a decent boy, you're generally polite, you're loyal to a fault, you don't get in trouble much and you clearly love her, so you would never hurt her."

"Then why?"

"Because after you started dating her, you turned into a smug, obnoxious, disrespectful son of a bitch." Jim growled. "When I tried to talk to you, before I threatened you, you sat there, right in front of me and you made fun of me with El. Have you any idea what that feels like to a father?"

"I..." Mike hesitated, thinking back to that day, realizing that Hopper was right. "Ah, crap."

"So, while I realize that I can't stop you from doing what you're doing, please, for the sake of my sanity, don't do it when I'm in an adjacent room."

"We can do that." a suddenly appearing El surprised them, startling thew big man.

"Jeez, kid, how long have you listened to us?" Jim asked.

"Since you started talking." she grinned and wrapped her arms around Jim's midriff, the larger man wincing from his injuries. "I'm so glad you're back."

"Glad to be back." Jim gave her a kiss on the temple. "Are you happy?"

"Very." El nodded and sighed into his embrace. "Lets go back inside, the agents are back."

"Morning." a very sleepy Brandon joined them in the living room when they walked back inside, the two agents already there.

"Good morning, everyone." Bryan greeted them.

"Anything for breakfast?" an appearing Dustin asked, Kali's group also coming down the stairs.

"We brought some." Marcus nodded and whistled loudly, the front door opening again and two men entering, carrying a load of boxes, followed by more people with more boxes.

"Since we couldn't really carry enough for everyone, we hired a catering service last night to prepare enough for all here." Bryan explained as the six people from the catering company set up a folding table and placed numerous boxes and plates with breakfast items on it.

"Holy moly." Dustin exclaimed, his eyes wide. "I'm gonna gorge myself."

"Leave something for the rest of us." a somewhat disheveled Robin joked.

"And don't eat too much, you have a girlfriend now." Steve chimed in.

"How are you feeling?" Brandon asked Steve.

"Better." Steve replied. "The cuts pinched a bit during the night."

"Keep them clean and bandaged and you'll be fine." Brandon smiled. "You may wanna put some Neomycin salve on your cuts to keep them from getting infected again."

"Some what?" Steve looked confused.

"An antibiotic salve, like Neosporin." Brandon clarified with a brand name.

"Oh, okay." Steve understood.

"Jim, when do you want to do your ribs?" Brandon asked the large man who was about to sit down.

"After breakfast?" Jim suggested.

"Alright." Brandon nodded and sat down himself, pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"Well, dig in." Bryan said, sitting down as well, as did the rest of the group. "After breakfast, we're going to give you your rewards."

"Oh, I wonder what we'll get." Lucas chuckled.

"First, food." Dustin said and grabbed for a bun.

"No, coffee first." Joyce yawned and poured herself a cup from one of the cans.

"So, Mike, slept well?" Max asked. "You know, after being shot?"

"Yeah, I did." Mike nodded and Jim growled into his coffee. "Dying really takes it out of you."

"Not funny!" El gasped and gave him a slap on the head.

"Yeah, that trip really killed you." Lucas winked.

"Don't encourage him!" El moped and flung a few pieces of cereal at her friend with her mind.

"Careful, you don't want to see her angry." Will laughed. "She kicked a trash container and it flew a hundred feet away."

"You saw that?" El asked.

"No, but how else would a full container that comes in at somewhere around half a ton get moved thirty feet?"

"Yeah, I was pissed at Trish for something she said." El mumbled.

"What did we say about using your powers openly?" Jim looked sternly at her.

"It wasn't openly, nobody saw me." El defended.

"And nobody connected the lamp dropping on Trish's head with her." Will grinned.

"Remind me to never get on your bad side." Axel shuddered.

"You need a remainder of that after watching her pull a thirty ton train car?" Funshine laughed.

"Point taken." Axel shrugged. "Mental note, never piss off Shirley Temple."

"Shirley Temple?" Jim looked confused at El.

"My hair at the time." she pointed to her head.

They spent the rest of breakfast with idle chit chat, the children talking excitedly about what to do with the rest of the summer, now that they were all back, even though nobody really knew if Joyce and her kids would stay in Hawkins, or even if El would. Jim also had no idea if he even could stay, given that the town believed him dead, which might necessitate a relocation and a new identity.

Once it was clear that everybody was finished eating, the group around Kali bagged most of the remaining food to take it with them, nobody stopping them from doing it since it was paid for and meant less work for the caterers, who came back into the house on a call from Marcus to take away the boxes, plates and tables they had brought.

"Come with me." Brandon said to Jim, leading him into the bedroom he had slept in. "Lift your shirt and bite on this."

"It's going to hurt that bad?" Jim asked concerned, Joyce joining them, and biting down on the same, albeit washed, leather strap that Mike had also almost bitten through the day before.

"If you think you can bear your ribs being broken, be my guest." Brandon chuckled. "But don't expect me to heal your tongue if you bite on it."

"Alright, alright." Jim sighed and bit onto the strap after taking off his shirt.

Brandon put his hands on Jim's chest and closed his eyes, concentrating once more on the body of the larger man in front of him. His mind's eye floated into Jim's chest, finding the six ribs in question and seeing their crooked setting. The first thing he did was separate the tissue that had grown around the ribs and that already made Jim whimper in pain.

If Jim had thought that this would be the worst pain, he was sorely mistaken. Brandon decided to spare him most of the pain by breaking all six ribs at the same time, the clearly audible snap making Joyce wince as Jim cried out in pain but without spitting out the strap. Brandon kept his concentration up, pulling the ribs back together accurately this time, fusing the bone together until it looked as if it had never broken.

"Done." Brandon proclaimed, letting go of Jim and stumbling backwards, Joyce quickly stepping forward to prevent him from falling down. "Thanks."

"You look as if you ran ten miles at high speed." she commented.

"And weirdly enough, I feel even worse." Brandon joked while panting hard. "Give me a minute."

"Okay people, gather around!" Bryan's voice brought everyone into the living room again.

"Yes, teacher?" Axel scoffed.

"I got your rewards here." Bryan pointed to a bunch of envelopes his partner was holding.

"We didn't really ask for anything." Dustin interjected.

"Nevertheless, we thought it only fair that you should get something for your troubles." Marcus added.

"Doc, since you offered your help from a sense of patriotic duty, we decided to give you this." Bryan started, handing Brandon the top envelope.

"Oh my god!" Brandon gasped when he saw the contents. "Thank you so much."

"What did you get?" El asked, curious.

"A two million dollar donation to the department of the hospital I work in." Brandon showed him, even though he was too far away for El to read the words.

"Here's your reward." Bryan smiled, handing Tom and Tim an envelope each.

"Wait, are you serious?" Tim gasped at the content.

"What, didn't you ask for that?" Bryan chuckled.

"Yes, but we never thought you'd actually do that." Tom interjected, looking at his sheet of paper.

"What did you guys ask for?" Axel asked them.

"Jokingly, we asked for a keg of beer a day for the rest of our lives." Tim said.

"And you got that?" Axel grabbed the document to read it. "Can I change my demand?"

"Nope, like it or not, you now have complete immunity from the crimes you already committed." Bryan winked at him and handed him his envelope before handing four others to the rest of Kali's group. "But that won't protect you from any future crime."

"How do we pick them up?" Tim wanted to know. "We travel around quite a lot, you know?"

"I know but those are sold in a lot of places, just take your cards to the stores they are sold in and get as many kegs as you need. There is enough money in the accounts with those cards to get you a keg a day for the next sixty years, assuming you live that long." Bryan told them. "So if you wanna get two kegs a day, feel free but then the supply will run out in thirty years."

"We'll get by." Tom laughed and shook Bryan's hands. "Thank you."

"I have to thank you." Bryan nodded. "So, now to you, Chief."

"Well, how do we explain my survival?" Jim asked.

"Me and Marcus spent last night on a cover story." Bryan told him, handing him an envelope as well. "We already called headquarters and have it spread around, especially at social security administration, so we could un-dead you. The cover is that your body was found but on your way to the morgue, you came back to life, like with Lazarus syndrome, and since you were badly burned, nobody could ascertain your identity until you healed enough."

"That's... actually quite ingenious." Brandon commented.

"Also, you can have your job as chief back, since the current one is still only here on a temporary basis." Bryan added. "Since the old mayor was arrested and tried, the new one hasn't really done anything with the police department."

"That would be great." Jim nodded. "I'll need a job to get a loan for a new place to live."

"Actually..." Bryan smiled and pointed to the envelope.

"Are you kidding me?!" Jim gasped as he read the document inside.

"What does it say?" El asked, walking around to him to take a look.

"It's the deed to this house." Jim showed her. "How can you do this?"

"As we said yesterday, this house belonged to the lab." Bryan shrugged. "They don't need it anymore. Also, in your envelope is a debit card for an account with half a million dollars in it you can use to make repairs and to do some refurnishing."

"Uh... wow." Jim almost deflated, unsure of what to say. "Thank you."

"It's the least we could do after your ordeal." Bryan nodded.

"Does that mean that El will stay here in Hawkins?" Mike perked up.

"Well, unless she wants to go back to Chicago with Joyce, yes." Jim nodded, looking at his daughter.

"If you think I'll leave Mike again, think again." El stated resolutely. "No offense, mom."

"None taken." Joyce smiled warmly, albeit a bit disappointed at losing her but her heart warm from El calling her mom.

"You could stay here too." Jim said to Joyce.

"Hop, I don't have a place to live here and my job is in Chicago." Joyce pointed out. "So, as much as I would like to come back, I can't."

"You could live here too." Jim pointed up. "This house is certainly big enough for me, El, you, Will and Jonathan."

"Actually, I couldn't stay here, I work in Chicago, remember?" Jonathan spoke up.

"Joyce, there's a way for you to come back here without losing your job." Marcus interjected. "We actually know the owner of your company and we know that he's planning to expand to Indiana. If we put in a word, he'll transfer you to the new branch in Indianapolis, which would be not that far to drive every day."

"That... would be okay." Joyce nodded. "Jim, if I moved in here, I could support Jonathan, so they wouldn't have to give up the house immediately."

"I'll move to Chicago next year to go to college there, we planned on moving in together." Nancy spoke up.

"Well, that way Jonathan would still have a place until you found your own." Joyce suggested. "But there's one condition that absolutely has to be met until I decide to move back here."

"And that is?" Bryan asked.

"Will, what do you think?" Joyce turned around to look at her younger son. "You wanna stay in Chicago? I know you have your..."

"Stay here!" Will shouted excitedly.

"But what about..." Joyce tried again.

"Dumped." Will waved it off. "Nothing to hold me there."

"Alright then, if the job thing works out like you said, I'll come back here." Joyce nodded.

"And stay here?" Jim asked.

"Sure, saves money." Joyce smiled, giving him a subtle hint that there was another reason for moving into the house.

"And these are for you." Bryan brought the meeting back to its original purpose, handing envelopes to every teenager.

"What is it?" Mike wondered after reading the document, not quite understanding it.

"When you decide to go to college, you can call that number, it'll connect you right to me." Bryan explained. "I will make sure that you get into the college of your choice, be it Harvard or Yale or some community college in North Dakota, and that your entire college stay will be paid for."

"Are you serious?" Dustin gasped. "We get college grants?"

"Yes." Bryan nodded. "But only for the standard semesters for whatever you'd be studying with a maximum two semester extension. If you slack off and take longer, you'll have to pay for each added semester yourself."

"Wow." Mike gaped at his document.

"For everyone?" Lucas asked.

"Yes." Bryan nodded.

"But what if we want to learn a trade and not go to college?" Lucas wanted to know.

"Then it's money saved for my department." Bryan laughed. "Sorry. We could help you with your move to another city though."

"What if I want to become an officer in the military?" Dustin asked him.

"That we can't do." Bryan shook his head. "We could get you into the military but the branch you get to isn't based on a good word from anyone, only the results of your physical and mental tests. And we sure as hell couldn't get you a commission to become an officer if you haven't earned it."

"Got it, college it is." Dustin smiled.

"Okay, we're going to head out." Kali announced.

"Too bad." El smiled at her and gave her a hug. "Drive save and keep away from crime."

"I don't know if I can rest until everyone from the lab is dealt with." Kali sighed.

"They are dealt with." Bryan said. "Haven't you noticed that you were unable to find anyone else?"

"Yes." Kali nodded, squinting her eyes.

"That's because everyone who was part of the project has been arrested and tried." Marcus told her. "So, if you really feel the need that you have to kill them, you'll have to break into a federal prison, if you can find the right ones."

"Point taken." Kali nodded. "Maybe I'm going back to school."

"If you need help, call."

"No idea what we could do." Mick shrugged.

"You could try public service." Bryan suggested. "You held your own during the fight and just because we prevented the Russians from opening another gate doesn't mean that a natural one won't open in the future."

"It'll be a cold day in hell before I work for the government that abandoned me." Axel scoffed.

"Then you may wanna get a warm sweater because I certainly will think about it." Dottie poked out her tongue at him.

"Dot, don't do this to me." Axel whined, following the girl out of the house.

"Bye Jane." Kali hugged her sister. "Keep in touch."

"I will." El nodded.

Watching the group leave, El went back to Mike to lean into his body, his arms wrapping protectively around her.

* * *

**Well, there it is. Finally finished despite the headaches. Hope it wasn't too bad.**

**Review please :)**


	24. Chapter 24

**Feeling a bit better recently. Strangely enough, the more I was at work, the better I felt. Don't tell my boss though ;)**

**obsessedmileven: No, when the story ends, I'll say so in the author's note and will mark the story as complete. Even if I develop another writer's block and can't update, I'd notify about that. As I've said in another story, the only reason for me to not finish it and mark it complete would be my untimely death (here's hoping that that's still a few decades away)**

**Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I write for my own pleasure and that of the readers.**

* * *

"We're here!" Dustin announced the group's arrival.

"About time." Hopper scoffed, putting down his saw.

"Where's Will?" Lucas asked, looking around for their friend.

"They left this morning for Chicago." Hopper told them.

"Why?"

"To pack some things." Mike took up the tale. "Since Jonathan will stay there and Nancy will move in with him for college, they all went to pack their things and see what furniture they can leave up there."

"Oh, okay." Lucas nodded. "So, where to you want us?"

"Lets see, I have willing but unskilled labor." Hopper mused. "I guess you can help with painting."

"Alright." Dustin nodded.

"Except you." Hopper stopped him. "As I understand, you're good with engineering stuff?"

"Yeah." Dustin nodded again.

"You come with me." Hopper said, leading Dustin upstairs.

"What am I supposed to do up here?" Dustin asked.

"Not high enough." Hopper chuckled and pulled the attic ladder down, leading the boy into the dusty room where he opened one of the windows.

"Outside?" Dustin was apprehensive when Hopper pulled a three step ladder in front of it and climbed out. "What are we doing here?"

"First, you tie this around your waist." Hopper handed him a belt from a set of climbing gear, tying the other end around the chimney. "Then you can fix the antenna and install the satellite dish."

"On it." Dustin nodded, glad that he finally got something to do that he was good at.

"Chief, where is El?" Mike asked the man after he had come back down.

"She's still clearing the backyard." Hopper pointed to the back of the house.

"Mike!" El's voice startled them as if them talking about her had summoned her.

"God, I've missed you." Mike sighed in relief and hugged her fiercely.

"I feel better just being close to you." El hummed into his chest.

"Me too." Mike agreed.

"You'd think they've been apart for months." Max shook his head. "It's been one night."

"Shut up, Maxine." El poked out her tongue and took in Mike's scent.

"Alright, enough with his, back to work." Hopper gently pulled them apart. "The boys need to get at least your room done until lunch so the paint can dry if you don't want to sleep on the couch downstairs again."

"Okay, dad." El smiled and pressed a kiss on Mike's lips before skipping back out to the backyard to continue.

"Why is she doing the cleaning out there alone?" Mike asked.

"Because the yard is secluded, which means nobody can look in there from the street, therefore she can use her powers to move some of the move heavy stuff." Hopper explained as if to underline his point, a large piece of old furniture floated past the window to land with a thump at the edge of the yard, close to the fence line.

"So, how are you planning to get it out of there?"

"There's a gate in the back." Hopper pointed. "We still need to clear some of the underbrush that has grown over the dirt path leading to it but once that is done, I can order a cleaning crew to get it out of there."

"Okay." Mike shrugged and followed the group into El's room.

It had been three days since the mission, when he, Kali and one of the twins went to Russia through the Upside Down to rescue Hopper and two days since the agents had left. As with their promise, a day after that, the town's newspaper announced the return of Hopper, telling the public what had happened to him, how his injuries had made him unrecognizable until he woke from the coma they said he was in so he could tell them his name.

The mayor had offered Hopper his job back, given that nobody had taken over as chief since his apparent death. Hopper had, of course, accepted, asking for a week off to get settled back in, a request the mayor granted, given what he thought Hopper had gone through. He had used the money the CIA had given him to buy supplies for the house and bring in a building inspector, who had determined that the structure was sound and the roof was okay for the time being, with just some of the beams in need of replacement.

The CIA agents had also brought him back to life officially with the social securities administration and other agencies to bring back his military pension and veterans benefits. Hopper was under no illusion that he agents didn't this out of the goodness of their hearts, but because they were seeing his little girl as a possible asset for future help.

All morning until lunch, the group worked, El finishing with the backyard and even the dirt path with her powers while the boys painted El's room and Hopper was fixing some of the more complicated stuff. It took Dustin only half an hour to set up the satellite dish, Hopper smiling at the prospect of getting to watch some good TV now, and as he paid for the pizzas, the boys came out of El's room, laughing at Lucas who was covered in paint and a smirking Max walking behind him, clearly the cause of his situation.

"Thanks chief." Dustin mumbled as he ate his pizza.

"It's the least I can do to thank you for your help." Hopper shrugged and tried not to look at his girl, who was sitting so close to her boyfriend that she was almost on his lap.

The kids ate their pizzas, Hopper helping himself to two pieces as well and once it was done, he gathered together some stuff for their upcoming trip. El had already packed her things together, just one backpack since they'd only stay one night and while Hopper was busy, she and Mike were glued together, both holding the other tight as if letting go would lead to the other disappearing into thin air.

"I hate so see you go." Mike sighed, holding El tight.

"I'm just visiting my mom and aunt, I'll be back tomorrow evening." El giggled but pressed herself against his chest nonetheless.

"Alright you two, you act as if she was going back to Chicago for a year." Hopper huffed, still trying to keep up his gruff exterior but ever since he and Mike had their talk, their relationship had improved to a large degree.

"Bye Mike." El waved at him after giving him a last kiss and climbed into Hopper's jeep.

"Miss you." Mike called after her as they drove away, feeling the lack of her closeness already.

He sighed and hopped on his bike, riding home to grab his swimwear. Since it was summer break and quite hot, most people went to the open part of the pool now, so he added the bottle of sun screen to his pack before riding off to his place or work. After nodding a greeting to a cheery Jennifer at the front desk, he entered the changing booth and donned his official red lifeguard shorts before heading into the employee room to check himself out in the mirror if something was amiss and to rub sunscreen all over him, using a long-stemmed brush to cover his back.

When he exited the employee room and came out into the warm outside, he noticed a lot of eyes going into his direction. He saw his mother on a recliner, surrounded by her friends who seemed to be giggling, also other girls who stared at him, most of whom he knew from school. At least the youngest ignored him. He nodded a greeting and gave a smile to his mom as he passed her before heading towards Lucy, who was climbing down from her perch.

"He's even cuter than Billy was." he heard one of his mother's friends say.

"Girls, that's my son." his mom quickly shot them down.

"About time you got here." Lucy scolded him.

"Sorry, had to say goodbye to my girlfriend." Mike chuckled. "That reminds me, what do you think about Lance?"

"Who's Lance?" Lucy asked.

"Martin's son?"

"Oh yeah." Lucy put a face to the name. "What about him?"

"He asked me to put in a good word for him to you." Mike smiled.

"Wait, he asked you to ask me for a date?" Lucy scoffed. "Geez, that's brave from the captain of the school's football team."

"He's not as bad as that sounds." Mike shrugged. "If what he told me is true, he's not just looking for a conquest, rather a woman that can challenge him. And lets face it, you're quite challenging."

"Are you saying I'm difficult?" Lucy squinted her eyes at him.

"Well, not difficult but... yeah, kinda, yeah." he grinned.

"Pff." Lucy huffed. "I'll write down my phone number on a paper and leave it in the employee room. You can give that to Lance and tell him, if he has any balls he'll ask me out himself."

"Can I tell him your interests so you can see if he has the balls, as you say it, to share them?" Mike asked.

"Why not?" Lucy shrugged. "Will hopefully make the date at least more interesting than dinner and a movie followed by a feeble attempt at seduction."

Mike chuckled to himself as he climbed up into the lifeguard's high chair, knowing the kinds of interests Lucy had. Lance better prepared himself for that.

As the day went on, Mike felt a headache come on, so he climbed down from his perch and headed into the employee room to get himself a pain pill. He swallowed it and returned outside where, during the remaining hours of his shift, the pain became worse and worse, spikes of agony shooting into his brain when it came time for him to end the day. He barely managed to climb down without collapsing, taking a few deep breaths in an attempt to get some pain release. His mother, who had changed and was waiting for him to finish, noticed his difficulties and came closer to see what was wrong.

"Mike, everything okay?" she asked, seeing her boy stagger as he tried to walk to the employee room.

"Just a headache." Mike managed to say before darkness enveloped him and he collapsed.

"MIKE!" Karen yelled and her scream got the attention of Martin, who was running a skimmer through the water to catch some leaves that the breeze had blown into the pool.

* * *

El was sitting in the passenger seat of Hopper's jeep, her adoptive dad keeping his eyes on the road but occasionally glancing at her. During the drive, El felt a headache come on, taking a sip of her water bottle to hydrate herself and cursing for not taking a box of pain pills with her. She hummed into her palm, trying to block out the pain that seemed to get worse by the second.

"Everything okay?" Hopper asked, having noticed El's discomfort.

"Slight headache." she nodded. "I'm sure it'll pass."

"We'll be there in half an hour, I'm sure your aunt has some painkillers for you." Hopper smiled at her.

"Yeah." she smiled back.

Hopper stepped on the gas a bit more, doing the rest of the way in twenty minutes instead of thirty. When they arrived, her aunt came out of the house to greet them.

"Look at you, Jane." Becky said after releasing her from the hug. "You've grown so much more mature since your last visit."

"Hi, aunt Becky." El smiled. "I feel more grown up too."

"Way too fast." Hopper grumbled.

"Good to see you too, Jim." Becky smiled and shook his hand.

"How is she?" El asked, everyone knowing who she was referring to.

"Unchanged." Becky sighed and led them into the house and into the room where El's mother was sitting in her wheelchair, still looking into the distance. "She had had an infection on her buttocks last year, which resulted from her sitting in that chair all day but the doctors were able to clear it up."

"Must be a large financial burden to care for her." Hopper commented, using that as a preamble to tell Becky of his plan to give her half the money the CIA had given him.

"It was." Becky nodded. "But that's cleared up now."

"It is?" El asked surprised.

"Yeah, it was the strangest thing." Becky told them and showed them a letter. "I got this in the mail two days ago."

"Son of a bitch." Hopper chuckled after reading it.

"What is it?" El wanted to know, Hopper giving her the letter.

"Miss Ives, your daughter helped this country in a very sensitive matter, so as a return for her help, I've authorized to cover her mother's medical costs retroactively. Signed Bryan Templeton." El read out loud, her mouth turning into a smile. "Son of a bitch."

"The envelope also contained a check and a debit card." Becky told them. "I don't know how he did it but somehow this Templeton guy knew to the dollar what I have spent so far on Terry's care."

"That's so nice of him." El felt teary.

"Jane, what did you do?" Becky asked.

"It's best if we don't answer that." Hopper counseled. "Just know that it had to do with her powers."

"Okay." Becky accepted and left the room, taking Hopper with her to give El and her mom some alone time.

"Mama?" El whispered and touched Terry's hand, wrapping hers around. "It's me, Jane. I'm back."

El began telling her mom about what had happened since her last visit, how she had found Kali in Chicago and got used by them to almost kill the person who had done this to her but how she had left him alive because she wasn't a killer. She also told her about her about what had happened afterwards, how she closed a gate she had opened and how the Russians had infiltrated her home town where Hopper had apparently died.

"I officially have a boyfriend." El smiled at the thought of Mike and felt a fresh spike of pain lancing into her brain, making her remember to ask Becky for a pain pill later. "You would love him. He's the sweetest, bravest boy. He risked his life to save me, and later to save dad. He even got shot doing it and his life was saved by someone who also has powers like I have."

"Mmmmmm." her mother hummed but El knew that it was because her mom understood her.

"I love you mom." El sniffed, hugging her before leaving the room, trying to decide if she should use the void again to maybe get a reaction out of her.

"How do you feel?" Hopper asked when El joined him and Becky in the kitchen.

"Aunt Becky, do you have some painkillers?" El asked her. "I have a really bad headache."

"Sure." Becky nodded and handed her a box she got from a cabinet. "Wanna go outside? The fresh air might help."

"Okay." El nodded.

"Jim, can you roll Terry out there too?" Becky pointed to the porch while El swallowed the pill.

"Of course." Hopper nodded and went into Terry's room, unlocking the brakes of the wheelchair and bringing her outside.

El sat down next to her mom and put her hand on her mom's leg to feel a connection to her. She thought about entering the void again to try to get her to talk a little more lucid but since her head was still pounding, she decided against it. While Becky and Hopper talked, with El throwing in her opinion from time to time, El felt worse and worse, the headache getting more pronounced until she could barely see straight when the sun began to go down.

"Jane, are you okay?" Hopper asked, seeing El slumped in her chair.

"Not really." El shook her head, immediately regretting it when a fresh spike of pain lanced into her brain.

"You should lay down?" Becky suggested.

"Yeah, maybe." El nodded, again regretting it and got up, trying to keep her head from moving to avoid more pain but as soon as she took a step, she stumbled and only the door frame kept her from falling down.

"JANE!" Becky shrieked in panic.

"Shit!" Hopper cursed and jumped up from his chair to get to his little girl. "Jane, can you hear me?"

"Dad, I feel as if my head is going to explode." El gasped, unable to stop tears from flowing.

"We need to call 911!" Becky said and ran into the house to pick up the phone.

"No, she needs to go to the hospital in Hawkins, immediately." Hopper stopped her.

"Jim, look at her, she needs a doctor." Becky argued.

"Yes, and there's one working in Hawkins's hospital that knows her and about her powers!" Hopper shot back, referring to Doctor Owens who had taken up residency in Hawkins to keep an eye on El.

"Then get her there, quickly." Becky agreed and ran out to open his car while Hopper carried his little girl.

"Mama is still on the porch." El mumbled, keeping her eyes closed since even seeing light was too painful.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of Terry." Becky said. "You get better."

Hopper nodded to Becky and stepped on the gas, breaking the speed limit as soon as he got out of the town limits. He made the two hour drive in less than one, pushing his jeep to the limit but his luck ran out when they were almost in Hawkins, a police car appearing behind him and flashing its lights.

"Shit!" Hopper cursed and slowed down, stopping his car but then recognizing the police officer stepping out of the car and coming to his.

"Sir, I think you know why I... Jim?" his deputy was surprised to see him.

"Powell." Hopper greeted his deputy. "I really need to go."

"Chief, you were going a hundred and thirty." Powell sighed and bent down to look in the car, seeing El having a nosebleed. "Jesus, what's wrong with her?"

"Shit!" Hopper cursed and fumbled in his pocket for a tissue. "I was going to the hospital, that's why I was speeding."

"Damn." Powell said. "Alright, chief, you follow me."

"Thanks, Powell." Hopper nodded to him.

It took another eight minutes at high speeds to reach the hospital, Powell clearing the way with his siren and flashing lights. As soon as they reached it, Hopper stopped in front of the entry and jumped out of his car, almost ripping off the passenger door when he opened it to pick up El. He kicked his door shut and ran into the building, looking around to find someone to help him.

"HELP!" he yelled. "MY LITTLE GIRL NEEDS HELP!"

"Chief?" the receptionist recognized him.

"Fran, is Doctor Owens in?" Hopper asked frantically, recognizing the woman.

"Yes, he's examining another emergency patient right now." Fran nodded.

"Well, get him!" Hopper growled.

"What's wrong with her?"

"Massive headaches, nosebleeds, you name it." Hopper described.

"That's strange, young Mister Wheeler was brought in a few minutes ago with the same symptoms." Fran said, reaching for her PA microphone.

"Mike." El wailed and wiggled out of Hopper's arms, almost falling to the ground.

"Jane, what are you doing, we need to wait for the doctor." Hopper tried to stop her.

"Mike!" El repeated, fighting herself to her feet and starting to walk, getting faster with every step. "MIKE!"

"Mike, what are you doing, you need to stay in bed!" they could hear Karen's voice from an opening door to an examination room.

"EL?" Mike shouted, coming out of the room he was in and seeing his girlfriend rushing to him. "EL!"

The two crashed together, their cheeks fusing together as they hugged as if their life depended on it. Both swayed on their feet and then collapsed, sliding down the wall end ending up sitting on the floor, El pressed into his chest, her arms wrapped around him while his arms enveloped her and held her tight.

"What are you two doing?" Hopper asked as he came closer, seeing Mike's parents. "Karen, Ted."

"Chief." Karen still couldn't believe that Hopper was alive. "What's going on?"

"Damned if I knew." Hopper shrugged, confused at seeing his girl and her boyfriend on the floor, appearing completely fine, if a little sweaty.

"Chief." a familiar voice greeted him.

"Doctor Owens, what's going on?" Hopper asked.

"I think that's above my pool of knowledge." Owens shrugged. "I've never seen this before."

"Mike, how do you feel?" Karen asked her son.

"Better." Mike breathed a sigh of relief, feeling no pain at all. "Much better."

"Me too." El hummed.

"Doc, bring them to a room and keep them together." Hopper told Owens. "I may know someone who can help us but I have to make a call."

* * *

"You got everything?" Marcus asked, handing Bryan a folder.

"I think so." Bryan nodded. "If I forgot anything, I'll call down and you can bring it up."

"Sure thing." Marcus nodded and Bryan left the room.

He walked past the other offices where most agents had no idea what Bryan and Marcus were doing. A small handful with clearances nodded to him in greeting, Bryan nodding back while he ingested the information inside the folder into his brain, knowing now every page and every detail that he can quickly present if needed. He stepped into the elevator and exited on the top floor, walking straight to the director's office.

"Good afternoon, Sally." he greeted the director's secretary, who looked up to see who had approached.

"Good afternoon, Bryan." Sally smiled at him and Bryan had to fight down a blush when he heard her think a truly inappropriate thought in regards to him and her. "He's expecting you."

"Thanks." Bryan nodded and, with his back to her, allowed himself to smile at another thought following him when Sally, in her mind, complimented his posterior.

"Agent Templeton." his boss greeted him with a nod and pointed to a chair at the larger confernece table, where several other people were already sitting, both CIA and military.

"Director Webster." Bryan nodded a greeting and sat down on the chair he was pointed to, seeing at least one familiar face. "General Miller."

"Agent." the general greeted him back. "I look forward to your report, especially in regards to our contribution."

"Please begin, Agent." the director told him and sat down himself.

"Five days ago, we began the mission as we planned. After assembling the team and training them in the use of the appropriate weapons, we settled on the small group that would conduct the mission to Russia while the rest was to stay back and defend the base." Bryan began. "The whole team consisted of twenty-one people, nineteen of whom were civilians."

"Why so many civilians instead of agents?" one of the CIA people that Bryan didn't know asked.

"Because we were trying to keep the circle of people who know about the truth behind this mission as small as possible and all those nineteen people have had previous contact with some of the subjects." Bryan explained.

"By subjects you mean people like you?" Director Webster interjected.

"Exactly." Bryan nodded. "of these nineteen civilians, twelve already even knew about the... uh... abnormal route we had to use to get to Russia."

"Agent, everyone at this table is briefed about the background of your mission." his boss told him.

"Very well." Bryan accepted. "Twelve of the civilians knew about the Upside Down, three of them even had been there before."

"The what?" a major asked confused.

"Upside Down." Bryan repeated. "It's what the girl who opened the natural gate under Hawkins lab called this dimension because it's a dark mirror to ours, albeit with some differences."

"Like?"

"Time and space seem to be different." Bryan shrugged. "Apparently, the faster you go, the shorter a distance is."

"What does that mean?" one of the CIA analysts present wanted to know, confusion written all over his face.

"When the group went to Russia, they moved briskly but they weren't hurrying and it took them almost two days to get to Russia, when they returned running, it took them only a few hours." Bryan explained to them. "Also, when Jim Hopper went to that dimension to avoid being obliterated in an explosion, he walked to Russia. Nobody just walks to Russia from America without food and water simply by going northwest."

"That's true." the analyst accepted the explanation.

"The group chosen to go to Russia consisted of three people, Mike Wheeler, Kali Prasad and Tom Steeple. Tom Steeple has superior physical strength, so he carried the bomb that the military supplied. Kali Prasad used her powers of illusions to hide the group from the denizens of that dimension while Mike Wheeler was used to guide them since he was very close to Jane Hopper, who had opened the gate and acted as a form of lighthouse to guide them back." Bryan continued.

"I'm sorry, what?" General Miller asked nonplussed.

"It's hard to explain." Bryan sighed. "I used my abilities to connect them since they have a very close personal relationship and it worked."

"Please continue with the debrief." his boss said.

"After forty-two hours, the infiltration team arrived at a gate in Russia. Tom Steeple enlarged the gate and after they went through, Mike Wheeler moved through the prison levels to look for James Hopper while Mister Steeple and Miss Prasad set the bomb and Mister Steeple subsequently held the gate open while Miss Prasad hid them both and the bomb from the Russian scientists and soldiers that entered the room a few minutes later." Bryan went on. "Some time later, Mister Wheeler found James Hopper, freed him and they returned to the gate room, where in the ensuing firefight, Mister Wheeler was shot in the chest three times before the group returned to the Upside Down a few seconds before the bomb detonated and obliterated the camp."

"Is the camp obliterated?" Webster turned to the general.

"Satellite recordings seem to indicate it, yes." Miller nodded and handed several printouts to the director. "Pictures show that a large gout of flame ejected the entrance to the cave complex and if they truly placed the bomb on the lowest level of the complex, then we can infer that the entire complex has been obliterated."

"What's the Russian chatter saying about it?"

"Not much." General Miller stated. "They either haven't heard yet, or our assertions about the government itself not knowing were right and this was a project by the KGB and its military counterpart."

"Any word from them?"

"Surprisingly, they've been very quiet the last few days." Miller shrugged. "We can only assume that they either know about it and try to cover it up or they're not aware of it yet. The second possibility is based on the assumption that they don't communicate daily with the camp, which personally, I doubt."

"So, any danger of them making the connections to us?" Webster asked.

"I doubt it." Bryan said. "The bomb wiped out any trace of our involvement and given that its effects could be seen from space, I'm sure nothing at its epicenter stayed recognizable."

"What about bullet casings?" one of the director's aides asked.

"At its center, the bombs detonation is hot enough to melt them enough to make identification impossible." General Miller told him.

"Also, we sanded the ID numbers off of the bullets that we supplied to Mister Wheeler to take with him, so if they find some they can't identify them." Bryan added.

"Even though the bullets are of a different caliber?"

"Yes, even that." Miller nodded. "The heat essentially turns them into molten slag."

"What about the trustworthiness of the people who made up this team?" the director asked. "Especially the four ones that would call... problematic?"

"Them I told the consequences of telling anyone about it." Bryan told him. "They also know that we can find them whenever we want, no matter how much they try to be off grid. And I also offered them jobs."

"You did what?!" another one of the aides almost shrieked.

"They handled themselves well in a fight against otherworldly creatures without panicking and were able to handle the weapons I gave them well." Bryan shrugged. "Though I sincerely doubt any of them will take us up on the offer."

"And the others?"

"The children and the two parents involved won't say a word, given their connection to one of the subjects. They won't risk that something happens to her because of this." Bryan said. "The twins got a keg of beer a day out of this and they and the doctor helped without even asking for something in return, so they won't tell anyone either."

"A keg of beer a day?" Miller looked amused.

"These two can drink." Bryan chuckled. "Alcohol doesn't work on them the way it does on us, part of their... abilities."

"Agent Templeton, everyone here has the clearances to know and they know about your special abilities too." his boss smiled.

"Ah, that's why they think in pictures." Bryan laughed. "Thank you all for that."

"How do you know we do that?" one of the lower rank soldiers asked.

"Because I barely hear anything coming from you." Bryan shrugged. "Nobody thinks that little. We all think about something all the time, even if we don't think about it."

"Back to the debrief." Webster brought them back to topic. "In your report, you said that before the group came back from Russia, the lab area you waited in was invaded by these creatures from that other dimension and that you killed them. So, it's now filled with corpses of those creatures?"

"Yes, we sealed the lab when we left." Bryan nodded.

"And how do we deal with the corpses?"

"We have two choices." Bryan sighed. "We either clue in more people and send in a cleaning grew that collects all the biological matter and disposes of it by burning them or the military gives us another of those bombs, so we can sanitize the room directly and simply have to collect the ash."

"I'm hesitant to make more people aware of that other dimension." Webster sighed. "General, can you supply another one of those bombs?"

"A smaller one would be best, it's only two rooms that were connected by an open door." Bryan added.

"We can supply one." Miller nodded. "But what if biological matter wafted into the rest of the lab via the air ducts?"

"No, we specifically set the air controls to create a lower pressure in the gate room and the antechamber so nothing airborne could escape." Bryan told him.

"Does anyone have any more questions regarding the mission?" Webster looked around the table. "If not, then..."

"Excuse me, Director." Marcus came into the room after knocking. "Bryan, phone call."

"Can't it after until after the meeting?" Bryan was confused.

"It's from Chief Hopper, from Hawkins. Urgent." Marcus pointed at the phone on the director's desk. "Line five."

"May I?" Bryan looked at his boss.

"Go ahead."

"Templeton... Hey Chief, what's the problem?... What?... Really?... Alright, I'm on my way." Bryan spoke into the phone, then put the receiver back down. "Shit!"

"Agent, what's going on?" his boss asked.

"It seems that my way of connecting Mister Wheeler and subject Eleven had an unexpected side effect." Bryan groaned. "Apparently I underestimated the intensity of their feelings for each other."

"What are you going to do?" Webster wanted to know.

"Marcus, get us a car." Bryan told his colleague. "We have to make a detour to Baltimore before going to Hawkins."

"Paging Doctor Harper?" Marcus joked.

"Yeah, I think we need him." Bryan nodded and got leave from his boss.

"Agents!" the general stopped them.

"General?" Bryan turned around.

"When you get back here with that doctor you are going to get, there will be a helicopter waiting for you to get you to Hawkins." Miller told them.

"Ah... thank you, General." Bryan was somewhat overwhelmed by that generosity.

"It's not a problem." Miller smiled. "For me, these people are heroes and they deserve our help."

* * *

**Well, there you have it. Not quite the smooth ride after what they've been through ^^**

**Review please :)**


	25. Chapter 25

**God, I hate the stress around Christmas. Why are people always so thin-skinned during December? People create more stress for themselves by thinking they have to abide to some traditions they don't even believe in.**

**I really wanted to release this before Christmas or at least on Christmas Day but I simply couldn't find the time. I worked on Christmas Eve and on Christmas itself, I spent both days mostly with family.**

**Today, after coming home from an early shift, I decided to hammer this down to give you, my (hopefully) faithful readers a belated Christmas gift :D**

**Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I write for my own pleasure and that of the readers.**

* * *

"How are you two feeling?" Owens asked when he had closed the door, seeing Mike and El lying in their respective beds in the room and the parents hovering around.

"Good." Mike nodded. "No headache at all."

"Same here." El smiled, the complete opposite of the hours before she had gotten here.

"Do you have anything to tell us what caused this?" Karen asked, her worry for her son written across her face.

"As I said before, this is beyond my pool of knowledge." Owens sighed. "Their brain scans and his MRI showed nothing out of the ordinary. No lesions or tumors, no blockages and no swellings. Physically, they're completely healthy."

"Then what's wrong with them?" Ted wanted to know.

"We..." Owens began when he was interrupted by three more people entering the room. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, you can help us by leaving." the man told him before turning to Jim and holding out his hand. "Hello, Chief."

"Agent Templeton." Jim shook the offered hand. "Agent Boyd. Doctor Harper."

"Jim." Brandon smiled and also shook Jim's hand.

"Agents?" Karen looked at the two men in suits. "FBI?"

"Not quite." Bryan shook his head. "Mister and Misses Wheeler, I'd like you to leave the room. Matters of national security. That includes you too, doctor."

"I won't leave until I get an explanation of what's wrong with my son." Karen stated defiantly.

"Mam, please. I will explain later but for the moment, you need to wait outside."

"Fine." Karen had to accept. "But if I don't get an explanation later, I will sue everybody in this room that isn't family."

"These are my patients." Owens added as Karen and Ted left the room.

"Doctor..." Bryan began.

"Doctor Owens?" Brandon suddenly spoke up.

"Do I know you?" Owens turned to the third man in a suit. "Wait, I do know you. Brandon?"

"Yes, it's me." Brandon smiled. "I'm a doctor too now."

"I was hoping that you would use your talent." Owens smiled.

"Brandon, how do you know him?" Bryan asked.

"He was my mentor in the lab where I was trained." Brandon told them.

"Oh, right, now I recognize him." Bryan nodded. "Fine, you can stay."

"Do you know what's wrong with them?" Owens asked.

"No idea." Bryan shrugged. "I admit that I'm responsible for it since I created their bond with each other but why they have such a reaction to being apart... I don't know."

"It would be nice to know at least what happens when they're apart." Owens suggested.

"Didn't you do a brain scan?" Brandon asked.

"Of course." Owens nodded. "On both but the results came back perfect. We even did a MRI with young Mister Wheeler, also fine."

"No MRI on her?"

"She... uh... has a problem with being stuck in tight spaces." Owens hesitated.

"She was routinely locked into small cells during her upbringing in the lab." Mike elaborated for the three.

"I see." Brandon nodded and went to Mike, putting his hand on his leg and closing his eyes before repeating that with El. "Huh, nothing wrong with them. They're both perfectly healthy apart from Miss Ives' strained blood vessels in her brain and nose areas due to her powers."

"You have an idea?" Owens asked.

"I think we need to test if they experience a change as soon as they're apart and if not, what distance is required to cause that reaction." Brandon explained.

"What do you have in mind?" Owens asked.

"Kids, when did you start feeling your headaches?" Brandon turned to Mike and El.

"Some time after lunch." Mike shrugged.

"I think I began feeling them when we crossed the town limits." El told him, since she was actually moving away when they had started.

"This is what we should do." Brandon stated. "We put Mike into the CAT scanner and have it run continuously while Chief Hopper takes his daughter and drives her out of town. We keep in radio contact with them and as soon as Jane feels the effects, they stop and we can scan for changes in Mike's brain."

"Brandon, we can't bombard his head with x-rays for that long, that could seriously affect or even kill him." Owens was aghast at the suggestion.

"That's why I'll stay inside the room, using my powers to constantly monitor his health and repair any damage as it happens." Brandon stated.

"I still think we should wait until Chief Hopper has reached the city limits before we start scanning." Owens argued.

"How about I drive a mile or two, you scan, I drive another mile or two, you scan and so on, so you can see if they have changes without headaches." Jim suggested. "That way, you don't have to do a continuous scan."

"That would be acceptable, especially if Brandon keeps an eye on him." Owens nodded.

"But we should do this in the morning, let them get some rest before." Jim stated. "It's past nine anyway."

"You're right." Bryan nodded.

"You got a hotel?" Jim asked. "Otherwise, you could stay at my house, it's big enough as you know."

"Thanks, we're taking you up on that invitation." Bryan nodded.

"One more thing." Marcus interjected. "What are we going to tell Mister and Misses Wheeler?"

"Ah, crap." Bryan sighed, remembering that Mike's parents were probably still waiting outside. "I guess we need to tell them about all of this."

"There they are." Marcus said after they had left the room.

"Mister and Misses Wheeler, would you come with us?" Bryan spoke to them.

"I told you, I won't leave until I get an explanation." Karen hissed, aware that her younger daughter was a few feet away.

"And we are ready to give that to you but not here." Bryan told her quietly.

They exited the hospital, the agents getting into the rental car they got in town after arriving with the helicopter, Hopper getting into his jeep and the Wheelers getting into their car, all driving to Hopper' new home. Jim exited his car and opened the front gate, letting the agents park their car on his property while Ted parked their car on the curb in front of the fence.

"Wow, Jim, this is a pretty big upgrade from your trailer." Ted remarked as they entered.

"Yeah, it is." Jim nodded and pointed to a large table with several chairs around. "Take a seat, I'll bring some refreshments."

"What about the girls?" Marcus remarked about Holly.

"Hey Holls, you wanna watch some cartoons and eat some ice cream?" Hopper asked her.

"YAY!" Holly yelled and skipped after Hopper.

"Great, she will have a hard time getting some sleep later." Karen said accusingly to Jim when he had returned after Holly was pampered and enjoying the taped cartoons.

"Don't worry, it's sugar free." Jim winked at her.

"So, what's so secret that you couldn't talk about it in the hospital?" Karen asked.

During the next hour, Bryan and Jim together laid out El's history, Hopper telling her and Ted, based on what El had told him, how the boys had found her in the forest after she had fled from the bad men who had killed Benny, how the boys had found her and to Karen and Ted's surprise, how Mike had hidden her in their basement and how the people from the lab had pursued them.

Hopper told her how he had hidden El for almost another year before he and the boys solved another crisis that was the reason for what had happened to Will, something Karen and Ted had been aware of peripherally, that had led to Jim's apparent death. Bryan filled in with the latest thing, the trip to Russia that had gotten Mike shot and the existence of other people like El, one of whom had saved Mike's life.

"So, is Jane, or El, is she dangerous?" Karen asked.

"Well, to people who come after her or the people she cares about, sure." Jim nodded. "She will do everything she can to defend the people she loves. And the one she loves most is Mike, as hard as that is for me to admit."

"So, what about all this caused the situation that they're now in?" Ted wanted to know.

"I connected them mentally to each other so Mike could find his way back from Russia but I never expected this reaction." Bryan sighed. "Frankly, I'm currently at a loss how that could have happened. I did the equivalent of a knowledge transfer that shouldn't have been saved to the long-term memory."

"What does that mean?" Karen asked. "They can't be separated at all?"

"We will run a test tomorrow." Hopper told her. "I will drive Jane away and they will scan Mike's brain after every mile or so to see if and what changes. Then maybe Doctor Harper can fix it."

"And if he can't?" Karen looked at the man who had been sitting silently on the couch until now.

"We'll have to see." Bryan shrugged apologetically. "From what you've told me, they didn't show any signs when they were spending the night in their respective houses, so they can be apart, if not too far."

"Jane said the headaches hit her after we left the town." Jim added.

"Doctor, why do you think you can fix him?" Ted asked the man, and as answer, Brandon got up, grabbed his key chain and swiftly used one to cut a gash into Ted's arm.

"Are you insane?" Karen shrieked.

"Watch." Brandon told her and put his hand on Ted's arm, closing his eyes and concentrating.

"Oh my god!" Ted gasped when the wound closed but he had to fight hard not to scream from the pain he was experiencing, if only to protect Holly from that view. "Alright, I'm convinced."

"I need rest." Brandon said and went back to the couch, almost collapsing from the momentary feel of exhaustion.

"Honey, I think we should head home." Ted said to his wife. "Holly needs to get to bed and we should be there with Mike when they do their tests."

"We'll start between nine-thirty and ten." Brandon said from the couch. "Give them enough time to have breakfast."

"Fine." Karen had to accept and left with Ted and Holly to let the doctor sleep.

* * *

Mike woke up, the first light of the morning visible outside the window. A quick glance at his wristwatch on the table next to his hospital bed confirmed his hunch, the time being just after four in the morning, given that it was June. He got up and shuffled towards the bathroom to relieve himself, humming in relief as the pressure lessened.

He returned to the room, seeing El in her bed, her blanket pushed to the side and her hospital gown ridden up, revealing her bare back and legs and her, to his eyes, perfect behind under the pajama bottoms Hopper had brought the day before. One look at it reminded her of the night before when she had pushed it against his face, demanding pleasure from his tongue after he had refused the sexual intercourse she had wanted.

As he stood there, he kept wondering why he had refused. El was on the pill, she had taken it in the morning of the day before and even though Hopper didn't bring the box, he could have pulled out before coming. Just thinking about it caused his manhood to do its morning salute, straining almost painfully against the fabric of his shorts and he did some soul-searching, thinking if he should do what he really, really wanted to do.

Before he could make a conscious decision, his body had already moved and climbed onto her bed, kneeling above her left calf. His hands gently touched her legs, slowly running up to her thighs and ass, his palms resting on her cheeks, only the thin layer of fabric of her bottoms separating her skin from his.

A quiet moan exited El's throat, spurring him on. Gingerly, he dipped his fingers under the waistband of her bottoms and slowly pulled, the fabric sliding over her skin until her ass was free for him to look at. He pulled them down to her knees, not bothering with more and dipped his head forward, taking a deep with of the, to him, heavenly scent of her core.

He gently began rubbing her folds with his index finger, making El moan again in her sleep. Less than two minutes later, his finger came back moist and he eagerly put it into his mouth, humming at the tangy taste. He bent down again, pressing his mouth against her folds, his tongue parting them and tasting her for real.

El kept moaning but since she wasn't saying anything, Mike concluded that she was still asleep while he licked her eagerly. He didn't know if he should be impressed that she was apparently such a deep sleeper or a bit miffed that she wasn't waking up despite his efforts to pleasure her with his mouth.

He took his time, never rushing, and sank his tongue deep into her folds, lapping at the juices she produced. After ten minutes, El's body began shaking and she let out an long moan, her eyes finally snapping open as Mike grinned and lifted his body up again.

"Mike?" she croaked, her throat dry from sleep.

"Shh, don't mind me." he whispered.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"What we should have done last night." he chuckled, shuffling out of his shorts.

"What changed your mind?" she turned her head to smirk at him.

"I'm an idiot." he shrugged and lined himself up, seeing her attempt to turn around. "No, stay like this."

"Will that be possible if I'm on my stomach?" she wondered. "Maybe I should get on my knees at least so... ooooooh!"

"Please try to keep quiet." he hissed. "It would be very awkward if a nurse came in and found us like this."

"Mike, I do everything you want but please move." she begged, feeling his manhood scrape against the very sensitive spot inside her in that position.

"As you wish." he grinned and began moving, slowly at first to let her body get used to him but quickly increasing his pace.

El kept her face buried in her pillow to avoid her noises to be too loud while Mike rammed his manhood into her. This was a position they never did before and El felt like she was about to explode from the pleasure coursing through her, making a mental note in her head to do this one every time they had sex. At some point, the bed began to more too much to be quiet and it began groaning as if the hollow aluminum parts of it were about to break, forcing Mike to slow down.

He lowered his upper body to rest on hers and grabbed around her, one arm going under her throat while not keeping her from breathing and the other going around her head, his hand resting on it. This leverage allowed him to push into her as deep as he could without her being pushed forward herself and El's reaction to it told him that he was doing something right when she suddenly wailed into her pillow, her body shaking and her inner muscles clenching his penis.

He waited her out, wanting to continue further and when El's shaking had subsided again, he continued to move. He wanted to enjoy it for as long as he could, so he didn't chase his own climax yet and kept moving slow, pushing his manhood into her to the hilt before staying buried inside her for a few seconds while grinding against her and moving back again.

"El, you need to be quieter." Mike whispered into her ear.

"Are you aware of what you're doing to me?" she squealed.

"Does it hurt?" he asked concerned. "Want me to stop?"

"Don't you dare!" she gasped. "That feels so good! Keep going!"

"Alright, but please try to be quieter." he pleaded.

Mike began moving again, pulling out, pushing in and grinding inside her and repeating. He managed another fifteen minutes of that, which El commented with more moans and squeals and another shaking until he couldn't take anymore. He lifted his body back up and grabbed her cheeks, squeezing her skin and picking up his pace until he was rapidly thrusting into her.

El screamed into the pillow one more time but since Mike was going for his own climax, he didn't slow down. El was almost about to lift her head to scream for real when he groaned loudly, coming hard before slamming back down onto her back, breathing hard but unable to stop chuckling.

"What's so funny?" El wondered, also breathing hard.

"The fact that I refused to do this last night." he told her.

"Mike?" she said quietly, as he pulled out and went to the bathroom. "Can I ask you something?"

"Just a sec, lets clean up first." he told her and pulled her up with him so they could use the bathroom, Mike giving her some privacy once he was done.

"Done." she proclaimed, climbing into his bed to cuddle with him, now again clad in her pajama bottoms and hospital gown.

"What did you want to ask me?" he spoke up two minutes later.

"What if it turns out that we can't be separated?" she asked.

"Would that be so bad?" he tried to joke.

"Mike, I'm serious." she lifted her body to look at him. "I love you and I love being close to you but what if we get separated against our will? We couldn't even do anything because after a few hours, we would be in debilitating pain."

"I know." he sighed. "But I'm trying not to think too much about it. We are doing that test with the agents and the doctor later, lets wait until that is done so we can plan how we deal with it, if it's something they can't fix."

"Okay." she accepted and rested her head on his chest.

"Honey?" he looked at her.

"Hm?" she hummed in response.

"I think you should get back to your bed." he sighed.

"Are you saying you don't want me near you?" she gasped, looking at his face.

"No, but the nurses may be mad if they find us like that when they come in here for whatever nurses do in the morning."

"Pff." she huffed. "My boyfriend's throwing me out of his bed. I feel so loved now."

"Love you too." he grinned.

"Yeah, yeah." she waved him off but smiled too as she flopped back into her bed, still basking in the afterglow of the sex she'd just had.

"Do you know what dad would do if he had seen or heard us?" she giggled.

"Ugh, I'd rather not think about it." he shuddered but got serious. "I wonder what the agents have told my parents about you and me and us and what mom and dad are thinking right now."

"Will they still accept me?" she asked quietly, deeply afraid that they wouldn't.

"They will have to." he stated defiantly. "No way would I let you go, no matter what they say."

"Good answer." she laughed and took a deep breath. "God, I'm tired. Some jerk woke me up to have his way with me."

"Yeah." he gave a theatrical sigh. "You won't believe what happened to me last night."

"What?" she played along.

"Some girl stuck her vagina into my face and demanded to be licked." he replied, managing to keep a straight face.

"Nooooo." she acted surprised. "What did you do?"

"I bit my tongue and did it, if only to get her off so she would let me sleep."

"I love you, Mike." she smiled warmly.

"I love you too." he said.

Her mind at peace for the moment, El closed her eyes in the hopes to fall asleep again. It took less than a minute and before she knew it, she was shocked awake by a bustling in the room. Her opening eyes fell on the nurse on staff this morning, moving through the room and looking at their charts, probably wondering why two teenagers of different genders were in the same room.

"Morning." Mike yawned, surprising her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to wake you?" the nurse apologized.

"Well, you didn't do a good job with that." El grumbled and smiled to show the nurse that she was joking and noticing that the nurse was reading her chart. "Something wrong?"

"No, I'm just wondering why you two are in the same room but it was signed by Doctor Owens, so it must be okay." the nurse shrugged.

"Can I ask?" Mike spoke up. "Why are you coming in here at this hour anyway?"

"It's our job." the nurse told him. "Some patients need medication early in the morning and since I had the day off yesterday, I didn't know if you needed some too."

"When is breakfast?" Mike asked.

"You sound like Dustin." El grinned.

"It starts at seven, but if you want to eat later, you can." she told them. "But not until noon, breakfast ends at nine-thirty."

"Good, some more sleep for me then." El hummed and turned around, pulling her blanket over her head.

"Thank you, nurse." Mike chuckled. "Sorry, I don't know your name."

"It's Whitman." she smiled at him and left them alone.

"I sound like Dustin because I ask for breakfast?" he grinned.

"Well, Dustin asks for food all the time." she retorted, her head still under the blanket.

For the next almost two hours, Mike lay awake, El falling back to a napping sleep during that time. He kept thinking about what she had said about his parents not accepting El because of her powers and maybe forcing them apart, like Hopper had done with a different tactic. A few minutes before eight, nurse Whitman came back, waking El up for good this time and bringing in breakfast they marked down on a paper.

"Enjoy." Nurse Whitman smiled at them as they sat down at the small table in the room.

"I thought patients in hospitals get their food in bed?" El wondered when they were alone, drinking hot chocolate.

"Only if they can't stand or walk." Mike told her. "You know, those who have a broken leg or had an operation that would stop them from getting up."

"Ah, I see." El nodded in understanding. "Are you nervous about today's test?"

"A bit, yes." he nodded. "I mean, I'll be in a CAT scanner for quite some time."

"When I saw you into the MRI machine, I almost had a panic attack at the thought of having to go in there myself." she shuddered. "How did you do that?"

"I tried not to think about it and ignore the noise it makes." he shrugged.

After they had finished breakfast, they put the plates together for easy pickup and while El used the bathroom, another hospital worker collected their empty plates and cutlery. Once she came back out, she sat down on Mike's lap, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her lips to his mouth. Mike quickly reciprocated, both kissing each other hard as if they had not seen each other for months until someone clearing his throat make them jump apart, the stern look of Jim Hopper burning holes into Mike's head while Bryan and Brandon tried not to smile and Karen looked at them with a gaping mouth.

"Um, morning." El stammered.

"Hey, mom." Mike smiled embarrassed at his mother.

"Michael." Karen nodded. "I think we need to talk later."

"Yes, mom." Mike sighed.

"Shall we begin?" Brandon asked. "Young lady, you should get dressed."

"Yes, doctor." El nodded and grabbed her clothes, walking into the bathroom to don them.

"Mike, come with us, please." doctor Owens said and waved at him.

They walked down the hall and got into the elevator, going to the floor that held the CAT scanner where Mike got comfortable. They waited until Hopper's voice came through the radio, telling them that he was at standing on the parking lot of a store halfway between the hospital and the exit of the town.

Mike took a deep breath and laid down, letting the doctor Owens do the test while Brandon kept his hand on Mike's leg to keep tabs on his physical condition. Once the test done, Mike sat up, taking more deep breaths as Hopper continued on to the town limits.

"Okay, I'm starting to feel the headache now." Mike told them.

"Chief, stop the car!" Marcus said into the radio.

"Already done." Hopper's voice came back. "Jane says that she feels a headache coming on."

"Mike too, we're scanning now." Marcus told him as Mike laid back down and the machine went to work again.

"Mike, how are you feeling?" Brandon asked after the test.

"The headache is still light but I get the feeling that it's getting more painful." Mike told him.

"Chief, can you drive another five miles?" Marcus spoke into the radio.

"Sure, but if Jane's nose begins to bleed, I'm immediately turning around." Hopper's voice came back.

"Okay, the headache is getting worse for real now." Mike said, feeling the first serious spikes of pain shooting into his brain.

"Get back into the scanner." Owens' voice came through the speaker and Mike did, waiting for them to to the scan while not trying to focus on the pain too much.

"El's nose is beginning to bleed, I'm coming back!" Hopper's voice almost shouted through the radio as the scan ended.

"Mike, come out." Brandon said.

"So, what's going on?" Karen asked as Mike was led past her and back to his room by a nurse.

"Well, his brain experienced a swelling that pressed on the pain receptors." Brandon said. "I couldn't find a direct cause though, things within the brain that aren't tumors are even beyond my capabilities."

"We should wait for the test results and then evaluate them." Brandon shrugged. "See what part of the brain is affected, then we can maybe find out, why."

They returned to the waiting area except for Doctor Owens and Brandon, who looked at the rest results, and waited for Hopper to return with El. Twenty minutes later, both arrived again, Hopper supporting El who was holding a tissue to her nose with one hand and a can of cola against her head with the other. He led her back into the room where Mike was in and she immediately perked up, climbing into his bed to cuddle with him. It took another hour before the two doctors returned, calling for Karen, Jim and the agents to follow them into the room.

"So?" Jim asked. "What's wrong with them."

"It's very strange." Brandon said, Bryan looking at the CAT scan pictures. "The swelling occurs in the hypothalamus and when I had my hand on his leg to see what happens to him, the ventral tegmental area became hyperactive, sending way too much activity towards the amygdala."

"I understand exactly nothing of that." Karen said.

"Mam, the ventral tegmental area is involved in emotions and love, particularly in how a person perceives pleasure. Dopamine pathways are located in the ventral tegmental area and dopamine is a neurotransmitter involved in mood, and increased levels elevate the person's level of pleasure." Brandon tried to explain. "The hypothalamus acts as a regulator of emotion and controls levels of sexual desire and pleasure, as well as aggression and anger."

"What does that mean exactly?" Karen wondered.

"Kids, I have to ask and I know this may be embarrassing for you." Brandon turned to El and Mike. "But, did you have sex already?"

"Uh..." Mike went beet red, seeing his mother looking at him with wide eyes. "Yes." he added quietly.

"Michael." Karen let out a sigh, not from anger but from disappointment that he hadn't told her.

"I think I know why they have this reaction." Brandon nodded. "Since having sex floods their brain with pleasure, this connection that Bryan created between them makes their brains think that they can never get that feeling again when they're apart. Like a drug addict thinking he can't get the high again."

"So... what do we do?" Karen asked.

"Well, we know that they can be in their respective homes without feeling this separation anxiety, so I don't think we need to force them to live together, but I would advice to let them spend as much time together as possible." Brandon said.

"You mean handing the drug addict the keys to the police station's drug evidence room?" Hopper scoffed.

"Yes, but in this case, this will hopefully tell their brains that they don't have to stay together all the time, that a separation doesn't mean the end." Brandon shrugged. "To use the drug addict analogy, it shows the addict that he doesn't have to take it all the time and that he doesn't have to steal to fund his addiction, since he can get it when he needs it, even if the time between shots is a bit longer."

"Cool, sleepovers on doctor's orders." Mike grinned.

"Michael, not funny." Karen swatted his foot.

"He's kinda right though." Brandon chuckled. "But it doesn't have to be every night."

"Definitely not tonight." Karen stated. "We still have to have a serious talk about your relationship with her."

"Yes, mom." Mike sighed in defeat.

El groaned and fell back into the bed, trying not to grin at the prospect of having to spend as much time close to Mike as possible. Of all the forms of treatment, this was definitely the most appealing.

* * *

**Alright, this is it for this chapter. I didn't proofread it yet because I wanted to get it out for you before I have to go to bed, since I have the early shift tomorrow again and writing is tough when my brain can barely concentrate due to tiredness coming from my insomnia.**

**Still, review please :)**


	26. Chapter 26

**Well, another chapter for this, way later than I originally planned. Unfortunately, I can't really help it.**

**OdoMango: because he wanted to :P**

**Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I write for my own pleasure and that of the readers.**

* * *

"Holly's in bed." Ted said as he returned downstairs.

"Michael, sit down." Karen pointed to one of the kitchen chairs.

"Yes, mom." Mike sighed, knowing what would be coming.

"Michael, why didn't you tell us that you are already having sex with Jane?" Karen asked.

"Because... well, it would be embarrassing." Mike reasoned. "Did you walk up to your mother and told her 'Mom, I had sex for the first time last night.' after your first time?"

"That's beside the point." Karen said after a few seconds of silence. "Do you know what could happen if you have sex at that age?"

"The same thing that could happen at every age?" Mike retorted. "Mom, we take precautions!"

"Don't get snippy with me." Karen admonished him. "How did it happen?"

"I would have thought that you knew how it works." Mike said, knowing right away that it was the wrong thing to say.

"Michael!" Karen snapped. "What did I just tell you?"

"Son, I think she means when and where?" Ted jumped in.

"Well, it happened last year, after Christmas, when you two were on your romantic getaway and Holly was on her sleepover." Mike told them.

"Way to go, son." Ted smiled.

"Ted!" Karen smacked her husband on the arm. "He's fifteen!"

"Come on, honey, it happened." Ted tried to reason with her. "They can't really reverse it."

"And it's not as if we planned for it to happen." Mike continued. "We got caught up in the moment and we didn't really think about it."

"It is kinda hard for a hormonal teenager seeing a naked girl to think clearly." Ted nodded.

"You're not helping, Ted." Karen grumbled.

"Mom, what are you actually mad about?" Mike wanted to know. "That we did it? Or that I didn't tell you? Or that I didn't ask for your permission?"

"Michael!" Karen slammed her hand on the table, startling Mike and he was surprised when he saw a tear running down his mother's cheek. "I'm upset that you hid a girl here for several days, a possibly dangerous girl. I'm upset because you got into mortal danger through her not just once but three times. I'm upset because I learned only yesterday that you got SHOT because you went to Russia to free Chief Hopper!"

"Mom..." Mike regretted his questions.

"I almost lost my son." Karen cried quietly. "And now, my son has some problem in his brain that causes swelling when the girl that this is all about moves a certain distance away from him and nobody can say if that problem will ever be solved."

"Mom..." Mike tried again.

"What if one of you gets kidnapped and the people doing it take you away? Will your brains explode at some point?" Karen continued on. "What if, god forbid, one of you dies? Does that mean that the other will only survive for a few days before your brain can't handle what's happening to it?"

"We're not gonna die." Mike was aghast.

"She has a point, son." Ted jumped in, rubbing his wife's back to comfort her as Karen shed long held back tears. "Nobody knows what will happen. Accidents can occur. What if Jane, or El, has a nightmare? Given her powers that those agents have told us about, she could accidentally throw you out the window."

"Dad." Mike sighed. "What can I say? I love her and she loves me. And in all the nights we spent together, she never had a nightmare, at least none that she talked to me about. And I never even fell out of the bed much less get thrown off."

"I doubt, you can say anything today." Ted sighed. "You better go to your room or to the basement while your mother calms down. Maybe tomorrow we can have a calm and rational discussion."

"Yes, dad." Mike nodded, accepting that this would be better than trying to rationalize with his emotional mother.

He went into his room and grabbed his pajamas before heading to the showers, washing off the stress of the day, the rigors of the tests and the pain he had experienced when number six had healed the damage done to his brain by the amount of x-radiation he had gotten. As he stood under the spray of water, he closed his eyes and concentrated on what and how he felt. He felt the slightest of pressure in his head, which, as he knew now, was caused by the fact that the woman he loved was two miles away.

Just thinking of her caused him to smile. To him, she was the most beautiful woman he has ever laid eyes on and he was already thinking that before she allowed him to see her naked and to feel her. Just her face, when she smiled at him, was angelic to him and her voice just as much. Shaking himself out of his thinking, he finished his shower and dried himself off, brushing his teeth and returning to his bedroom where he grabbed his handheld walkie-talkie and took that to the basement.

"El, are you there?" Mike spoke into the walkie.

"Mike?" her voice came out of the speaker after several seconds, followed by a quiet splashing sound.

"What are you doing?" Mike wondered.

"I'm in the bathtub." El chuckled. "Hiding from dad."

"Why?" Mike chuckled as well, trying not to think too much of her naked form in water.

"He wants to have a talk with me." El sighed. "About us and what happened between us during his absence."

"Yeah, my mom just had this talk with me, at least the first part." Mike nodded.

"The first part?"

"She burst into tears over what had happened to me, especially me getting shot." Mike told her. "So dad told me that we would continue tomorrow morning after she had hopefully calmed down."

"Don't remind me." El sighed audibly through the speaker, a splashing sound indicating that she had pulled her other hand out of the water. "When I heard one of the twins say that, I thought you had died."

"It felt like it." Mike admitted. "Like I was falling and falling without ever landing until I actually felt the ground hitting my back. And I never believed it before it happened to me but I actually saw my life flashing before my eyes. Admittedly, it didn't take long."

"And then what happened?" El asked. "Did you see a light?"

"No." Mike shook his head. "All I could see was blackness enveloping me until I felt as if someone had put a power cable against me and then I woke up and all I could do was run."

"Dad told me." El almost whispered. "They injected you with adrenaline directly into your heart."

"That was the weirdest feeling ever." Mike said. "I was hurting so bad, I could barely breath but at the same time I couldn't stop moving. I saw you and all I could think of was getting to you."

"I almost jumped into the Upside Down when you got shot." El sighed. "If the agent hadn't stopped me, you wouldn't have found your way home in time."

"Jane, stop hiding in the bathtub!" Mike could hear Hopper's muffled voice coming from the speaker. "Let's talk!"

"Ugh." El grumbled. "Mike, I gotta go. I have to clean my naked body and then have dad give me a speech until he has to go to work."

"You're so mean." Mike almost wept at the mention of the word naked.

"But you still love me anyway." she laughed and then shut off her walkie.

"Yeah, I do." Mike nodded to himself and put the walkie down.

El sighed deeply, diving under the water to wash her hair out again before stepping out and grabbing a towel. She ran her hand over the smooth skin of her legs and the area between it, having used the wet coverage of her body to shave without having to use shaving creme. She wrapped a smaller towel around her head and dried her body with a bigger one, putting on the pajamas she had set out and slipping her feet into the comfy cat slippers Mike had gotten her.

"I'm here." she told Jim when she arrived in the living room.

"Sit down." he pointed to the sofa.

"What did you want to talk about?" she asked innocently as Jim began pacing.

"What do you think?" Jim looked at her. "The fact that you're sexually active at your age."

"Dad, I thought you made your peace with the fact." El argued.

"No, I made my peace with him." Jim corrected her. "I accept that he's your boyfriend, I accept that he loves you and you love him but the thought of you and him having, you know... it, makes me want to strangle him for violating my little girl."

"Dad, IT is sex. I can say it, why can't you?" El asked. "You do it too, so what's the big deal?"

"Well, not so much these days, since I... hey, this isn't about me, this is about you!" Jim realized that El had almost turned it around on him.

"We're back!" a female voice interrupted anything else Jim might have wanted to say.

"Mom!" El whooped and ran into her arms, warming Joyce's heart with that word, especially since El's real mom was still alive. "Welcome back!"

"What about me?" Will asked, carrying a box with some of his stuff.

"Welcome back too." El giggled and hugged him as well. "Need some help?"

"We have some heavy furniture that needs to get up to the second floor..." Will began.

"Hey, no taking advantage of her powers." Jim chuckled and came over, hugging Joyce. "Welcome back."

"Nice to be back." Joyce melted into his embrace. "Now, get out there and empty the truck."

"Yes, dear." Jim pursed his lips and walked off.

"Thank you!" El whispered to Joyce.

"For what?" Joyce wanted to know.

"Dad was trying to give me a talk."

"About?"

"Me and Mike." El shrugged. "How many boxes do you have?"

"A few dozen." Joyce told her. "It's mostly clothing and other small things."

"No furniture?"

"No big things, I left most of it in Chicago since Jonathan and Nancy will soon live there. Just my bed and my night tables and of course, almost everything from Will's room."

"Everything but the carpet." Will grinned. "Which one was my room?"

"There's still three free rooms upstairs." El pointed to the stairs. "I don't know if your mom and dad will share a bedroom of if she wants one for herself for now but you should have the free choice between two or three."

"Mom?" Will called out, waiting for Joyce to return with another box in her hands.

"Yes, what is it sweetie?" Joyce looked at him?

"Do you want a certain room?" Will asked. "El said, three are still empty upstairs."

"Choose one." Joyce smiled at him. "I'll be fine."

"Let me show you the free ones." El said and walked upstairs, Will right behind her.

"Which one is yours?" he wanted to know.

"The one at the end of the hall, last door on the right." El pointed to her left.

"And which one is Hopper's room?" he grinned.

"It's on the other end." she pointed to her right and laughed. "Although I didn't choose it because of that, I had no idea the master bedroom was on the other end of the hall."

"Bathroom?" Will looked around.

"One is over there, the first door to the left." El pointed to the hallway where her room was located before pointing to the other side of the hallway. "Another is on the this side of the hallway, first door to the right. And there's a master bathroom downstairs with a bathtub. The upper floor ones only have showers."

"Wow, three bathrooms?" Will looked impressed. "I wonder how many people lived here."

"Who cares, now there are living four here." El chuckled.

"Five, including Mike?" Will winked at her.

"Can't promise that he won't spend more than a few nights here." she poked out her tongue at him.

"You really think Hopper will allow that?" Will looked at her with doubt in his eyes.

"Oh, you weren't here the last few days." El realized. "Mike and I can't be separated."

"Eh... what?" Will looked confused now.

"Well, we..."

"Jane, you and Mike were in the hospital?" Joyce interrupted them as she stomped up the stairs.

"I was just about to tell Will." El nodded.

"What happened?" Joyce wanted to know. "When I asked Hop, he just grumbled something about Mike violating his little girl on doctor's orders."

"Wait, are you saying that Mike and El are now ordered to have sex?" Will's eyes went wide.

"No, not that." El shook her head. "But Mike and I are, uh, linked in some way."

"You mean when that agent did that to you so Mike could find his way back?" Will wanted to know more.

"Exactly." El nodded and led them back downstairs so she could sit down, Will still carrying his box, having forgotten about it momentarily. "Apparently, because we already had sex..."

"Hmpf." Jim commented that word with a grunt.

"... every time we're apart a certain distance, we get bad headaches that get worse the farther we're apart. And as soon as we get back together, they stop."

"It's that bad?" Joyce asked Jim.

"Jane suffered her headache and we had to cut her visit to her mother short because her nose began to bleed worse than when she used her powers." Jim nodded. "And as far as I understood it from what Karen told me, Mike collapsed at the pool after his shift. The agents did a CT scan on him while I drove Jane away and parts of his brain swelled up."

"So, if you and Mike can't be apart, why isn't he here?" Will inquired.

"The real headaches don't start until one of us crosses the town limits." El explained. "The current distance isn't enough for that, all I feel is a slight pressure."

"He's not coming here tonight." Jim put his foot down. "So don't try to get me to change my mind by saying you feel pain."

"Dad, I didn't say pain." El squinted her eyes at him, Joyce seeing Jim actually move backwards slightly. "It's a slight pressure, like this, just inside of my head, closer to the nose area."

"I see." Will nodded as El put her hand on the back of his head and pushed. "I usually feel that when I have a cold and I'm congested."

"Did you feel that before you suffered the nosebleed?" Jim asked, showing the concern he felt.

"Yes, though I had no idea what it was and since it wasn't painful, I ignored it." El nodded too.

"Fine, he can stay here tomorrow night." Jim sighed, bowing to the inevitable.

"With me in my room?" El grinned.

"If I put him into the empty room, I'm fairly certain that I'll find you together in either his or your bed anyway." "Jim tried not to make a face. "That's why... he can... sleep... with... uh... you. In your bed."

"Thanks, dad." El smiled widely and went to hug him.

"But for my sake, don't have sex." Jim begged. "Or at least, try to be very quiet, just for my peace of mind."

"We can do that." El nodded and skipped upstairs. "Will, you wanna get that box into your room or you wanna carry it around some more?"

"Right." Will remembered that he still carried the box.

"What am I going to do?" Jim flopped onto the couch, his head in his hands. "My daughter and Mike... doing it. At fifteen."

"Hop, I think you just have to accept it." Joyce chuckled and sat down beside him. "Your little girl is grown up and enjoys the perks of love. And it's not as if you could sow up her hymen again."

"Ugh, don't talk about her like that." Jim shuddered. "I guess I'll have to accept the fact."

"Oh yeah." Joyce grinned. "Now come on, you big oaf, there are some more boxes in the truck that need carrying."

"JANE!" Jim yelled, the girl appearing at the top of the stairs with Will.

"Yes, dad?"

"Come on down, if I let you spend the night with Mike, you have to get Joyce's bed and Will's heavy furniture into the house."

"Okay." she giggled and skipped down the bed.

"So, what was that about not abusing her powers?" Joyce smirked at him.

"If she wants to spend the night with her boyfriend, she has to work for it." he shrugged.

Five minutes later, Joyce's bed was floating into the house and up the stairs, El walking behind it with her arm outstretched.

* * *

"So, how's living back in Hawkins?" Jennifer asked from her spot on the blanket.

"It's much quieter, that's for sure." Will replied, not even looking up from his sunbathing.

"It's nice spending a night and not hearing a gunshot." Jonathan added, rubbing Nancy's back, who had fallen asleep with her head on his chest.

"People shot guns in your neighborhood?" El gasped, herself half perched on Mike's body, one leg between his.

"To be fair, it was only twice." Will added.

"No, three times." Jonathan corrected. "You may have slept through one time."

"When I was in Chicago, I noticed that people were kinda chaotic but never outright violent." El said. "At least towards me. Then again, Axel threatened to cut me open the first time he met me."

"He did what?" Mike gasped this time.

"Don't worry, Kali made him see spiders crawling over his arm." El chuckled. "And as soon as I pulled the train wagon a hundred feet sideways, he never dared to touch me if I didn't want it."

"By touching you mean..." Mike tried not to think too hard about it.

"Hugs." she poked out her tongue. "How come when I say touch you think inappropriately?"

"Can't help it." he shrugged.

"Don't worry, only you are allowed to touch me like that." she giggled.

"If you intend to do that right now, remember that you're not alone." Nancy mumbled from her position, not even opening her eyes.

"Yeah, we're totally going to do it right here." Mike scoffed.

"Sex on the beach?" El whispered into his ear. "Not a bad idea."

"Shhh." he grabbed her hips. "Don't make me get an erection right now."

"By the way, you never told how your talk with your mom went." El said, louder this time. "Did she say something bad about me?"

"No." Nancy replied for Mike.

"How do you know?" Mike asked her. "You weren't there for the talk."

"Mom told me later." Nancy shrugged. "She asked me what I thought about El, after asking me if I knew about her powers and I told her that I did."

"And?" El looked at her.

"Told her the truth." Nancy shrugged again. "You're a nice girl, polite, a bit blunt and you have powers."

"Yeah, your mom is very understanding." Dustin agreed. "Nice of her to not be against the fact that you two are doing it already."

"Dustin." Mike whined, a blush creeping up in his face.

"The fact that she walked in on them doing it in the basement didn't make it easier to pretend that t hey weren't." Nancy chuckled, El blushing too from the memory.

"No way, you did it in the basement?" Dustin almost shrieked. "Our holy gaming place? How could you?"

"We got... carried away." Mike told him.

"According to mom's wails to dad, you almost carried El away." Nancy laughed.

"You know, right now I think that I would gladly do another trip to Russia through the Upside Down." Mike grumbled.

"I wouldn't mind a hole in the ground opening up to swallow me whole." El agreed.

"Mike, you wanna jump from the cliff into the lake?" Lucas asked, having so far listened to the group talking.

"Nah, I'd rather be alive." Mike waved him off.

"Oh come on, if you don't jump far enough, El can save you with her powers." Lucas argued.

"The last time she pulled me up the cliff, she collapsed right after." Mike countered. "So we..."

"Um, excuse me?" another female voice interrupted them. "Can someone explain to me what this is about? El has powers? Mike went to Russia through what?"

"Oh crap!" Dustin looked shocked at his girlfriend. "I totally forgot you were here."

"Thanks a lot." Jennifer rolled her eyes at him. "So?"

"Ah, shit." Lucas agreed with Dustin.

"Yeah, El has powers." Max nodded to Jennifer.

"And you can never tell a soul, understand?" Mike pleaded to her. "It could endanger us all."

"It can't be that bad?" Jennifer looked at the group who all stared at her. "Can it?"

"Oh yes, it can." Mike nodded. "Promise us, not a word!"

"Okay, I promise." Jennifer did just that. "Can you show me?"

"Um..." El looked around to see if someone outside of them was close enough to maybe see what she was doing, seeing only a few others who were far enough away. "Sure."

"Holy shit!" Jennifer shrieked when El pointed her arm at her and her body lifted two feet off the ground before gently settling down again. "That was amazing!"

"Thanks." El chuckled and took the tissue that Mike handed her.

"Shit, what's with the nosebleed?"

"Whenever El uses her powers, her nose tends to bleed, something to do with the blood vessels in her brain being strained." Dustin tried his best to explain.

"Close enough." Mike nodded.

"Hey guys!" another voice startled them.

"Stevie!" Dustin greeted his older friend. "Robin!"

"Hey guys." Jonathan waved at them. "How are you?"

"We're good." Robin nodded, putting down her backpack and taking out a large blanket, placing it at the top left of them and completing a rectangular placement of all of their blankets.

"Holy crap." Lucas whistled through his teeth when Robin took off her clothes, revealing her two piece bikini.

"Hey!" Max commented that with a slap on his back. "Stop staring at older women."

"Older women?" Robin looked challenging at Max. "Who are you calling old?"

"I said older, not old." Max retorted, not ready to pick a fight with the other redhead.

"Ten bucks on Robin." Mike grinned from his place.

"You don't think I can take her?" Max asked accusingly.

"Anyone else, yeah." Mike winked at her. "Her, not so much."

"Pff." Max waved him off and flopped back down to get some more sun, deciding to get Lucas flustered by opening her bikini top to avoid the tan lines on her back.

"So, did you two also get your heads out of your asses?" Jonathan asked the newcomers.

"Yeah, kinda." Steve nodded.

"About time." Nancy commented. "You deserve to be happy, Steve."

"Thanks." Steve smiled at her. "So, how are you guys doing? Anything new? We haven't seen each other in almost three weeks."

"Yeah, Mike and El can't be separated." Dustin told him.

"What else is new?" Robin scoffed. "If they were any closer, they'd be Siamese twins."

"No, they literally can't be apart." Dustin elaborated. "If one stays in town and the other leaves it, they'll experience extreme headaches that only go away when they get back into close vicinity."

"What, seriously?" Robin gasped. "Let me guess, it has something to do with what..." she began but then saw Jennifer. "I mean..."

"She knows." Mike saved her. "But yes, it has something to do with what the agent did to us."

"Well, that's nice for you, isn't it?" Robin grinned. "Now you can spend the nights together on doctor's orders."

"Oh yeah, and Hopper is not happy about that." Will laughed. "I always hear him grumbling about wanting to kill Mike for violating his little girl."

"Mom doesn't dare going into the basement to do laundry anymore when El is at our house." Nancy chuckled. "Afraid of what she might walk into."

"Oh no." Mike whined again. "Can you please stop talking about this?"

"Yeah, it was embarrassing enough when she walked in just when I was... you know."

"Oh god!" Max laughed. "I'd have loved to be a fly on the wall at that moment."

"I hope you have the couch steam cleaned before we come over for gaming night again." Dustin pleaded.

"Don't be a baby." Max rolled her eyes at him this time. "You probably have slept on that couch already after they had done it on it."

"Am I the only one who finds it weird that our fifteen year old friends are talking openly about sex?" Stave asked around, his inquiry directed at Robin, Nancy and Jonathan.

"No." all three of them replied in unison.

"If that becomes common knowledge, you will become the most famous kids in our class." Jennifer told them.

"Then lets not let it become common knowledge please." El looked at her.

"Oh, and just a heads up, Stacy has declared war on you." Jennifer told her.

"Eh... what?" El was confused. "What did I do to her?"

"I think she has the hots for Mike, so she told us, the bitch squad as Max so eloquently put it, that she intends to get him into bed." Jennifer explained.

"Pah, does she even know how?" Max scoffed. "I bet she couldn't even take him and his big..."

"Max!" El shouted to make her stop talking.

"Just wanted to let you know."

"You know, I don't really know her, apart from seeing her jogging in winter with a pulled down zipper and no bra." El said but then her eyes hardened. "But I'd like to see her try."

* * *

**I know, no action in this chapter. But they deserve a quieter life, I think ^^**

**Review please :)**


	27. Chapter 27

**Careful, long authors note incoming ^^**

**Life sucks right now. Six weeks ago, I bought myself a new mattress online to replace my old, worn out, one. The new one was a 7-zone feather core mattress but compared to my old one, it was hard as a wooden board. One night later, I woke up with back pain. People told me that it's normal since your body needs to get used to the new mattress. Three weeks later (granted, one week of those I was on vacation) and the back pain was still present.**

**Then, I had a day of work where I had to unpack a pallet of goods. None of those were heavy but I had to bend over several times. When I was done, I was in agony. My back was killing me. I could barely move. The next day, I did my shift and then I went to the doctor. Despite pain medication and muscle relaxants, I could barely stand, walking was agonizing and sitting was very uncomfortable. At least I bought myself a mattress topper to alleviate the wooden board feeling of my mattress.**

**A week of sick leave followed during which I decided to visit the gym courses that help with back issues and go into the infrared sauna. Then, the coronavirus hit my gym. The majority of the staff got sick and the gym had to close. Now it's open again but only for people who can train without trainers. No courses, sauna is closed. At least I still can do home courses for my back to strengthen my back.**

**The moral of the story: Never ever buy a mattress that you haven't lain down on to test it.**

**So, despite my long rant, enjoy :)**

**Bashinitoo: They're in junior high, already ;)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I write for my own pleasure and that of the readers.**

* * *

"How are you feeling, Michael?" Karen asked her son while walking by the lifeguard chair with her friends.

"Great." Mike replied.

"No... uh, separation anxiety?" she deflected in a quite voice so her friends wouldn't overhear, a precaution that was proven to be not needed given that they had already moved on.

"Hey Karen." El grinned from the water, waving at her boyfriend's mother.

"Of course she's here." Karen chuckled. "Nice to see you, Jane. How do you feel?"

"Just perfect." El giggled.

For the past weeks, she and Mike had spent almost every minute together. During the days, they did things with their friends and except for one night of the week, they also spent those together, dividing their time between Mike's home and El's. Over time, Karen had become used to seeing her and accepted the fact that they were sexually active, so much so that she wasn't surprised when one time, her son's girlfriend stumbled into the kitchen in the morning, wearing nothing but one of Mike's shirts, one that wasn't long enough to cover her behind when El had stretched up to grab a glass from the cupboard.

In some motherly sense, she was proud of her boy. His girlfriend was a very beautiful girl and during the time she had stayed at their house, she had proven herself to be exactly what Nancy and Joyce had told her. She was polite, she was respectful, she got along great with Holly and she was completely devoted to her son. Of course, walking in on them while they were satisfying their carnal urges in the basement had been something she could have done without.

"When are your friends coming over?" Karen asked Mike.

"At six, is that okay?" Mike returned.

"Of course." Karen nodded. "I just want to know when to start setting the table and when Ted can put the coals on the barbecue."

"I can do that." Mike said. "I did it on New Years Eve."

"Still, it will save you some time." Karen smiled and rejoined her friends.

"Your son gets more yummy every day." one of them giggled.

"Girls, he's my son, don't talk about him like that."

"But his girlfriend is stunning." another one remarked. "He's a lucky man."

"I agree." Karen nodded.

"Why is she calling me Jane now?" El wondered, after Karen had gone.

"For the same reason she calls me Michael despite the fact that everyone else calls me Mike." Mike shrugged. "She's very formal in that regard."

"Mike, dude, when are you joining us?" Dustin called from a few feet away, Jennifer clinging to his back and her head on his shoulder.

"As soon as Lucy shows up." Mike called back. "Where are Lucas and Max?"

"Probably doing the nasty." Jennifer giggled, having learned way too much about what her new group of friends are doing already.

"Jennifer, are you alright?" El asked.

"Of course." Jennifer giggled again and bit into Dustin's shoulder.

"Ouch." Dustin gasped. "Jennifer, what's going on?"

"Wanna go into the shed?" Jennifer whispered into Dustin's ear. "Make out?"

"What?" Dustin looked at her wide eyed.

"Jennifer, are you drunk?" Mike wanted to know.

"Nooooo." Jennifer shook her head. "I don't drink alcohol."

"You must have taken something." El pointed out.

"All I drank before we came here was water." Jennifer told her. "And some of that sweet elderberry juice from Dustin's fridge. That tasted amazing, even though it smelled bad."

"Uh, how much of that did you drink?" Dustin became apprehensive.

"One entire bottle and some of the second." she grinned.

"Oh, shit." Dustin sighed.

"What?" Jennifer looked at him.

"That wasn't elderberry juice." Dustin explained. "That was homemade elderberry wine."

"Oh, shit." Mike couldn't stop herself from laughing.

"Mike, that's not funny, my girlfriend is drunk." Dustin moped. "If her parents find out, they may tell her to break up with me."

"Then she should just go home with you and then from there directly to my house. Mike suggested. "There, she'll eat meat and salad and drink water or juice and any alcohol use should be masked."

"I certainly hope you're right." Dustin nodded, squirming a bit when Jennifer continued to drop kisses and nips on his skin.

"Hey guys!" a disheveled Max greeted them, quickly jumping into the pool, followed by Lucas.

"What happened to you?" Dustin wanted to know.

"They did the nasty." Jennifer giggled.

"What's with her?" Max asked.

"She's drunk." El told her.

"No way!" Max laughed. "How did that happen?"

"My mom makes elderberry wine at home and had three bottles in the fridge." Dustin explained. "Jennifer drank one."

"A whole bottle?" Lucas chuckled. "Wow. And here I thought I was someone because I drank a glass of my dad's scotch."

"Mike, is six o'clock still the time?" Max asked.

"Yep." Mike nodded.

"Where's Will, by the way?" Lucas wanted to know.

"He's over there." Mike pointed to where Will was talking to another boy.

"Who's he with?" Max asked.

"No idea."

"Hey Mike." a voice greeted him.

"Oh, hey Lance." Mike greeted the captain of the football team, several other players behind him. "By the way, I wanted to ask, how did your date with Lucy go?"

"When you told me that I couldn't handle her, I didn't want to believe you." Lance chuckled. "Jesus, that woman is wild."

"Did my advice regarding what to do work?"

"It more than worked." Lance grinned. "I never knew bungee jumping could be so exhilarating."

"Glad it worked out for you." Mike chuckled. "Is Lucy here already?"

"Yeah, she's changing." Lance nodded and noticed the group of teenagers at the pool's edge staring at him silently. "Something on my face?"

"Lance, these are my friends." Mike told him, and pointed to El. "And my girlfriend."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Lance." he nodded down to them. "My dad owns this pool, so be nice to me."

"I doubt anyone of us would dare not be nice to you for fear of getting our heads pushed into a toilet." Dustin remarked.

"Nah, nothing of that to you on my watch." Lance waved him off and turned around to his friends. "Got that, guys?"

"Sure, whatever you say, boss." the large guy Mike knew was Larry nodded.

"Jeez, since when do you have a soft spot for freshmen." another player asked him.

"Ah, there she is." Mike pointed to the employee door where Lucy was exiting, waving at him as he climbed down.

"You see that, guys?" Lance pointed to Lucy. "Thanks to him, I got her."

"Nice!" yet another player commented.

"Yeah, so as far as I'm concerned, he's alright and so are his friends." Lance continued.

"Got it, boss." Larry smiled and picked Mike up in hug. "A friend of Lance's is a friend of mine."

"Great." Mike winced, feeling his shoulder blades and ribs crack before being put down again.

"Hey Lancelot." Lucy grinned and pulled the taller Lance down to him to press a kiss on his mouth, slapping and squeezing his ass in the process.

"Lancelot?" Mike looked at the man as Lucy climbed up the high chair ladder.

"Don't ask." Lance squinted at him.

"He was very chivalrous when an ex of mine accosted us during one of our dates." Lucy grinned. "Stepped in front of me and all."

"I didn't ask!" Mike lifted his arms in surrender when Lance gave him a stare.

"Not that she needed the help." Lance couldn't help but chuckle. "She took him down before he was done talking."

"Sky diving this weekend?" Lucy asked him.

"No, we're having the opening game, remember?" Lance shook his head.

"Oh, was that this weekend?" Lucy nodded. "Alright, I'll come by and cheer."

"Fantastic." Lance chuckled.

"Alright Lancelot, go away now, I'm on the job." Lucy waved him away.

"My girlfriend is telling me to scram, that's always so nice." Lance gave a theatrical sigh.

"Get lost now and let me work and I'll make it up to you tonight." Lucy winked.

"Bye guys." he waved almost indecently fast and started moving. "Thanks again, Mike."

"No problem." Mike laughed as Lance and his teammates moved off, jumping into the deep pool a few moments later.

"Thanks Mike." Lucy smiled down at him. "Never thought he'd be that fun to be around."

"Did he really take you bungee jumping on your first date?" Mike wondered.

"Yep." Lucy nodded. "I could see that he was petrified but he pulled through and jumped. To me, a guy who would do this for me on a first date despite his fear of it just because I like it shows me that he's interested in more than just my body."

"So, you think this will be long term?"

"Well, he's still on probation, so to speak." she shrugged. "I don't let him have sex with me every day, just once in a while. Helps to see if he's truly serious about me or if he was just doing what I liked to get me into bed."

"And that works?" El wondered.

"Girl, you have no idea how much power you have over men, especially if you're pretty with a nice body." Lucy looked at her. "You can make him do anything you want just with the promise of sex, and there are guys out there who you don't even have to sleep with for them to do stuff for you."

"Don't give her ideas!" Mike gasped and turned to El with a grin. "Love you."

"Love you too." she smiled back at him and turned back to Lucy. "Isn't that a bit mean?"

"Sure, it is." Lucy nodded. "But it's not our fault that some guys are so horny that they would service you even if you didn't service them, if you get my drift. These guys are usually offering you their help in whatever you need and why wouldn't we accept it?"

"Still, I'd feel bad for him." El mused.

"I'm going to do change, alright?" Mike knelt down to press a kiss on her mouth.

"Hurry." she grinned and watched him go into the employee room.

"That's almost sickening." Max scoffed.

"I think it's cute." Jennifer giggled, still clinging to Dustin's back, her weight easily supported by the water.

"That was quick." Lucas commented when Mike reappeared, this time wearing his regular bathing shorts.

"CANNON BALL!" Mike shouted and jumped into the water, bending himself into a ball and creating a huge splash.

"Hey Mike, don't make me ban you from the pool!" Lucy shouted from her high seat.

"You can't ban me, I work here." Mike poked out his tongue.

"Watch me." Lucy squinted her eyes.

"Jesus, you're scary." Mike shuddered.

"And don't you forget it." Lucy laughed and went back to her job, watching over the other pool guests.

For the next few hours, they enjoyed the warm weather and cold water. In less than a week, the school year would begin again, only this time, Mike would be able to walk to ride to school with his girlfriend by his side. El had already, through Jim, put out feelers to apply for the school's track and field team, her success in the year before a good basis for being accepted.

Dustin bought Jennifer a bottle of water, making her drink it so his girlfriend would at least act less drunk. While he had no problem with her affectionate side, her direct approach to it made him a bit self-conscious, especially when she had started nibbling on his earlobe. He managed to stop her from doing that by suggesting that the boys took their girls on their shoulders and had them wrestle, unfortunately, the reality of his head between her legs and definitely feeling heat emanating from that area had quite the effect on him. Luckily he had been underwater.

"Mike, we should leave." Will told them after he came over.

"Why?" Mike wondered, turning around to look at his best friend, with El suddenly giving out a shout of surprise before she fell into the water. "Ups, sorry."

"Yeah, right." El laughed as she resurfaced.

"WE WON!" Jennifer whooped, the last one sitting on her boyfriend's shoulder, Max having had fallen in first, much to her chagrin.

"It's after five, so if we want to start the barbecue at six, we should get going soon." Will explained.

"Right." Mike agreed. "All right everyone, move your butts."

"Yes, General Wheeler." Lucas gave a mocking salute but jumped out of the pool regardless.

They separated into two groups, based on gender and each group went into their respective shower areas. None of them bothered to take off their bathing shorts or bikinis, simply pulling the fabric away to clean those that had been covered in the pool. Ten minutes later, they met outside the pool, everyone unlocking their bike locks and jumping on them, riding down the streets and separating again so everyone could go home.

"Finally, I thought you had forgotten." Karen commented when Mike and El entered the house.

"No. We just had fun." Mike told her.

"Right." Karen smiled, not believing a word he said and turning to El. "Who told him?"

"Will did." El grinned.

"Traitor." Mike muttered.

"Yet you love me." she giggled, dropping a kiss on his cheek.

"Can't argue with that." Mike shrugged. "What can I do?"

"Take those..." Karen began but was interrupted by the door bell. "Get that."

"Hey guys." Mike greeted Dustin and Jennifer again. "You're here early."

"Yeah, we had to get out early, my mom brought all the stuff she made for us by car."

"Hello, Misses Henderson." Mike called as Dustin's mom exited the car and opened the left back door of the car.

"Dustin, come here and carry some of the boxes." Claudia shouted.

"Yes, mom." Dustin quickly ran to the car, Mike following him.

They each grabbed several of the tupperware boxes, Claudia carrying the last of them. After entering the house, Jennifer holding the door open for them, Mike led them into the kitchen where they placed the boxes on the table.

"Is your whole class coming?" Karen looked at the boxes. "Hey, Claudia."

"Karen." Claudia nodded. "I might have gone a bit overboard."

"A bit?" Karen smirked, seeing the twelve boxes filled with various salads.

"Fine, a lot." Claudia chuckled. "Dustin told me that there would be at least seven people there."

"No worries, I'm sure Mike will clean up everything." Karen smiled and began emptying the boxes onto plates or into bowls.

"I'm not eating that much." Mike protested.

"Right." El said sarcastically and took two of the bowls.

"If you want, I can clean those right away, so you can save a trip tomorrow." Karen suggested.

"Good idea." Claudia nodded. "I'll help."

While El and Mike brought everything into the backyard where Ted was busy preparing the barbecue grill, Karen and Claudia washed and dried all the boxes, Dustin taking them back into the car. In the next few minutes, the others arrived, first Will and lastly Max and Lucas. They gathered in the backyard, where Mike was standing at the grill, flipping the burgers, sausages and steaks.

"Looking good." Lucas nodded at the meat on the grill before seeing what was already on the table. "Jesus, how much does your mom think we'll eat?"

"Not my mom." Mike shook his head.

"Misses Henderson?" Max looked at him.

"The very same." Mike laughed.

"Hey, what can I say." Dustin interjected. "My mom's a provider."

"Jennifer, how are you feeling?" Lucas asked.

"Not drunk anymore if that's what you mean." the blond replied. "That was such a weird feeling."

"How so?" El asked.

"Like I was able to do everything and I didn't care about others looking at me while I was doing it." Jennifer shrugged. "And for some reason, everything was funny."

"The wonders of alcohol." Lucas laughed.

"Though I heard that the morning after could be very bad if you drink a lot." Jennifer said.

"It's called hangover." Mike said from his position at the barbecue. "Didn't you listen in biology class?"

"Not really." Jennifer shrugged. "I probably should start to do that, now that we're in high school."

"Might be a good idea." Dustin nodded.

"Easy for you to say, you guys are smart." Jennifer pointed out.

"You're smart too." Dustin retorted. "You just have to use your brains."

"Pff, look at what dating a nerd is doing to me." Jennifer huffed. "I'm actually contemplating to learn instead of having fun."

"Yeah, we kinda have that effect on the ladies." Mike shrugged and laughed. "So, first batch is done, who wants what?"

"I'll take one of the fish." Jennifer said.

"There's fish?" Lucas wondered. "Where?"

"Inside the foil packages." Mike told him, stepping aside to allow him to see them while he put all the finished meat into a bowl. "Jennifer, can you come here with your plate?"

"Of course." she nodded and walked up to him, holding out her plate so Mike could lift the foil package on it with two barbecue tongs before adding the remaining meat onto the barbecue and then bringing the bowl with the finished to the table. "Dig in."

"Holy crap, that looks good." Lucas commented, taking a steak while Max grabbed two sausages and a burger patty to make herself a cheeseburger.

"Mike?" a tiny voice interrupted them.

"Oh, hey Holls." Mike smiled at his little sister, who was also holding a plate.

"Can I have some?" Holly smiled shyly at the group.

"Of course." El nodded and beckoned her over. "Come here, sit down."

"Okay." Holly smiled and hopped on the chair.

"What do you want?" El asked her.

"Can I have a sausage with ketchup?" Holly looked around. "And some potato salad."

"Certainly." Dustin nodded, grabbing the potato salad bowl and bringing it over, spoon in hand and beginning to ladle it onto her plate. "Say stop."

"Stop!" Holly giggled after Dustin had put two spoonfuls down.

"Can you eat it like that or want me to cut if for you?" El wanted to know.

"I can eat it like that." Holly nodded and put her fork into the sausage, lifting it up and keeping it over the plate in case it cropped or ripped in half.

During the next fifteen minutes, the group ate, with Mike standing up occasionally to flip the meat remaining on the barbecue. Once that was done too, he brought it to the table as well, with the remaining two fishes, of which El took one, sharing it with Holly and the other was taken by Max, sharing it with Lucas. Unfortunately, their eating was disturbed by a gathering of particular pesky insects.

"Stupid wasps." Dustin waved his arm around.

"If you keep trying to hit them, they will sting you." Mike told him, keeping calm as a wasp was crawling over the back of his hand.

"They seem particularly fond of the fish." Max realized, seeing the most wasps congregate around what was left of her food.

"I got an idea." Mike said and got up, taking the fish that Jennifer had eaten and placing it fifteen feet away, Max handing him her fish as well, having eaten most of it.

"I don't believe it." Dustin chuckled when he saw the wasps flying to the fish, landing inside the foil and lifting off with pieces of fish between their legs.

"I thought wasps were more drawn in by sweet stuff." El mused.

"Apparently, they like fish even more." Mike shrugged, not having expected that as well.

"Well, lets dissuade them from coming back here." El said and gingerly put her remaining fish next to the other two, quickly getting away again, enjoying the now wasp free surroundings.

As the wasps kept landing and leaving with fish like reverse of the Berlin airlift they had learned about in history class, they enjoyed their food. Holly in particular could not be separated from the tomato salad that Dustin's mom had made, finishing the whole bowl alone, even the onions and everything else.

"I think she'll have a not so quiet night tonight." Mike remarked, seeing Holly's head lolling in the tiredness that came with eating too much.

"Why?" El asked.

"When she eats that amount of onions, she tends to fart a lot." he chuckled.

"Alright, if she comes into our room tonight to sleep with us, we'll send her back to hers." El laughed, running her hand through Holly's hair, who just mumbled, her eyes closed.

"So, tomorrow's the big day." Dustin grinned. "Are you all as excited as me?"

"Yep." Will, Lucas and Mike agreed.

"For what?" Jennifer asked confused.

"We'll go to the movies tomorrow to watch the new Star Trek movie." Dustin explained. "While it has been out for a while now, the events we had with... you know... stopped us from going there."

"I've been actively stopping myself to read any magazine that has a review of it." Lucas said. "Don't want to spoil my expectations."

"Do we have to go to?" El asked.

"Wait, you don't want to?" Mike gasped.

"Well..." Max shrugged, Jennifer doing that as well.

"Alright, there's no way around it." Mike sighed theatrically. "We're going to have to break up."

"Yeah." Dustin nodded, shaking his head at Jennifer.

"Well, maybe if Max makes it up to me really good, I might keep her." Lucas grinned.

"Keep talking like that and there won't be any making up for anything for a month or more." Max smirked.

"And you can't break up with me." El pointed out. "I won't allow it."

"Fair enough." Mike shrugged. "You're on your own Dustin."

"I think I will forgive her." he smiled, turning to Jennifer and putting his head on her shoulder.

"Is that what I can look forward to?" Jennifer asked the girls.

"Pretty much." Max nodded. "Bouts of nerdiness sometimes hard to stomach, only equalized by their sweetness and their loyalty."

Mike started cleaning the table, bringing the plates and cutlery into the kitchen where El began to wash them. Mike returned out side with a small trash bag, holding it out while Lucas and Dustin put every scrap of food in it that couldn't be eaten anymore. The wasps had finished with the fish, the time of day too late for them to continue, so Mike threw the carcasses also into the trash, finally tying up the bag and bringing it to the trash cans outside while Jennifer and Max brought the bowls into the kitchen where El washed them too.

Jennifer joined her, taking a cloth and drying the dishes that El washed, stacking them on the kitchen table. As Dustin and Lucas placed the lawn chairs around the fire pan, Mike put the dishes into their respective cupboards before all of them joined their friends outside again. Mike put a few pieces of wood into the pan, lighting it up and opening the bag of marshmellows, handing everyone sticks to put them on so they could fry them.

When Mike was settled in, El swung her leg over his, sitting down on his lap and leaning back int his body, his left arm wrapping around her stomach. This is where she was meant to be, where she felt safest and most loved. She knew that when school began again, they'd have to spend their week nights in their own beds, only getting together on the weekends and El also knew that it was necessary so they could essentially wean themselves away from each other in order to avoid the pain that came with being too far away.

But El didn't really want to.

* * *

**I hope everyone reading this and your families are safe from the coronavirus that is spreading throughout the world. Here in Germany, we have over 20k cases now but for now, at least where I live, we don't have total curfews.**

**By the way, that wasp and fish thing happened to me. Did a barbecue last summer with my parents and my mom made fish in foil and wasps where truly going into it and lifting off with fish between their legs.**

**Review please :)**


	28. Chapter 28

**Jesus, I let this one slide for a while. But I'm really busy these days with work and life, also I found a bit of inspiration to write for another story, so sorry about that.**

**Guest: You do realize that in order for that to work, Mike would have to think that El has died as well, right? Otherwise, he'd still have symptoms even if she doesn't anymore.**

**Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I write for my own pleasure and that of the readers.**

* * *

"I really don't know what to say." Dustin said, the rest of the guys still sitting in silence in Mike's basement.

"Yeah, that was..." Lucas sighed.

"Underwhelming." Mike shrugged.

"Yeah, that's the best word I can think of." Will nodded.

"I can't believe it." Dustin sighed too. "I had such high hopes, given the director..."

"Lets face it." Mike stood up and started pacing. "Star Trek Five, The Final Frontier sucked ass."

"It wasn't that bad." Will tried to see the silver lining.

"Alright, lets agree that it sucked ass compared to the other Star Trek movies." Mike suggested.

"Agreed." Dustin nodded, Lucas doing it too.

"Hey guys." El greeted them when she entered the basement, Max and Jennifer following her. "How was the movie?"

"Don't ask." Lucas grumbled.

"Oh, it must have been bad." Max laughed. "Normally, they'd jump around happy after they watched some nerdy movie."

"We do not do that." Lucas gasped.

"Yeah, when have we ever done that?" Will asked.

"Remember the Star Trek marathon movie night we had?" Max smirked at him. "You guys were pretty excited even after it."

"Yeah, who can forget their Wrath of Khan chants during the second movie." El giggled. "So, what made this movie so bad?"

"For one, the action sequences were kinda dull." Lucas said.

"And the story seemed... I don't know, not fully fleshed out." Dustin shrugged. "Imagine playing a game of Dungeons and Dragons and Mike leaves out some things out of the storytelling, and you just sit there and think to yourself how he arrived at this point."

"So, what's next for you then?" Max asked.

"I don't know, I think I could definitely use some cheering up." Lucas winked at her.

"Yeah, right." Max rolled her eyes.

"What is he talking about?" Jennifer asked.

"He wants sex." Max explained. "I should have waited before opening my legs for you."

"Hey, you initiated it." Lucas poked out his tongue.

"Her fault." Max pointed at El.

"Why mine?" El asked confused.

"You flouted your active sex life." Max argued.

"I did not!" El protested. "Not my fault that you couldn't stand the fact that me and Mike did it first."

"I still can't quite believe that among the guys in our class, it's parts of the nerd crew who got some first." Jennifer chuckled. "If the guys who consider themselves the cool guys knew about it, they'd blew a gasket."

"I wouldn't be concerned about that, more about that they would do to, you know, catch up with them." Will said.

"Are you saying some of our classmates would turn into rapists?" Mike asked.

"Somewhat." Will hesitates. "We know that some of them have girlfriends and these might not be ready for it yet but the guys could pressure them into it."

"Wow, that conversation turned dark fast." El remarked. "Weren't we making fun of the guys having gotten a bad movie?"

"Right." Max nodded and pointed to the guys. "Ha ha, a movie you had high hopes for sucked."

"Gee, thanks." Dustin huffed. "Just wait until you want to see a movie you're looking forward to and it sucks."

"Pff, good luck with that." Max scoffed.

"Lucas, what's Max's favorite movie or movies?" Dustin looked at his friend.

"How would I know." Lucas shrugged.

"You're kidding, right?" Max glared at him. "I told you."

"You did?" Lucas looked confused. "When?"

"A few weeks ago, when we were at Cas... at our secret hideout." Max told him.

"Did we just... um... finish?" Lucas hesitated, not wanting to say too much.

"For the love of god, I'm not stupid." Jennifer huffed. "Just say it, you guys had sex and from what I've heard, guys who finished are pretty beat and can't be talked to."

"True." Mike nodded.

"Agreed." Lucas did as well.

"What, for real?" Dustin looked at them. "You mean, when me and Jennifer... I mean, if we ever, you know, do it, I can look forward to being completely drained from the experience?"

"Don't worry, unless you become a jerk, it will happen." Jennifer grinned, dropping a kiss on his cheek.

"Wow, from now on I'll be even more agitated, thinking that every night could be the night." Dustin groaned.

"To answer your question, it depends on your, lets say, efforts." Mike told him. "The climax part always drains you but how tired you are depends on how active you were and how long it took."

"What is... long?" Dustin looked apprehensive.

"In biology class, the teacher said that the average for a man is, what, twelve minutes?" Will looked around.

"I think so." Lucas nodded. "Some people do longer, some do shorter, sometimes it's how you're feeling on that day and how long ago the last times was."

"I don't follow." Dustin said.

"Try not masturbating for the next two weeks and then doing it. You'll be getting there quite quickly." Mike laughed.

"So, when exactly did our conversations turn from games and movies to sex?" Will chuckled.

"I think that happened at the end of last year, when these two did it first and then these two followed suit." Dustin pointed first to El and Mike and then to Lucas and Max.

"I wish back the time when we could sit down here and talk about the next Dungeons and Dragons campaign." Will sighed.

"If we were, these three wouldn't likely be here." Mike pointed to the girls.

"At least they wouldn't interfere with our game time." Will laughed.

"Want us to leave?" Max smirked.

"Nah." Mike shook his head and pulled El onto his lap. "You class up the joint too much. And I like it when my girl leaves her scent on the fabric."

"You two are so sickeningly cute." Max acted as if she was gagging.

"Hey, there's a reason I don't shower right after sex." El laughed, moving her butt left and right for a few times, grinding over Mike's lap and grabbing a metal ball to roll it over her hand in a training effort to use her powers without having to concentrate too hard.

"Ew, you don't shower afterwards?" Jennifer made a face.

"I do, just not right after." El corrected. "I want to bask in the afterglow for a bit. But as soon as the sweat gets cold, it becomes uncomfortable."

"And we're again talking about sex." Will sighed.

"Okay, lets be nice to Will and talk about how bad the movie was they so clamored to see." Max announced.

"Gee, thanks." Dustin said sarcastically. "I'd rather talk about school."

"Speaking of school, are you guys coming to the tryouts?" El asked around.

"Tryouts?" Lucas asked.

"I'm trying out for the school's track and field team next Wednesday and Thursday." El explained. "I was on my old school's team as well, so I thought it might be a good idea."

"Why two tryouts?" Lucas asked.

"They want to see if your performance is consistent." El told him. "Everyone can have a bad day or a really good day."

"Don't worry, if your performance is the same as in Chicago, you'll be a shoe-in." Will said.

"I'll also do a tryout." Jennifer said proudly.

"You will?" El asked. "Are we going to be competitors for a spot?"

"No, I'll be doing the cheerleader tryouts." Jennifer smiled.

"You want to be a cheerleader?" Dustin asked surprised. "Wow."

"Agreed." Lucas nodded.

"Alright, if she gets it, Dustin will be the most admired nerd in school." Mike laughed. "Dating a cheerleader."

"To be fair, you two are also pretty admired already." Jennifer said, pointing to him and Lucas. "You two are dating hot girls already."

"They don't even know El yet." Mike argued.

"Remember, Stacy and the others from, what you call the bitch squad, have seen her and you together." Jennifer laughed but shrieked in shock when the metal ball El was rolling suddenly crunched together.

"Is that bitch still lusting after my man?" El ground out.

"She hasn't said anything about it lately." Jennifer lifted her arms. "Not that I have spent much time with them lately, I've been more with you guys."

"Guys, when will we go to the movies for the second Ghostbusters movies?" Dustin asked around to stop El from exploding or worse, destroy the room.

"Next weekend?" Mike suggested.

"Yeah, it's about time." Lucas nodded. "It's hard not to read anything about it."

"What if the movie is as bad as that Star Trek movie you saw?" Jennifer asked.

"Oh god, that would be a tragedy." Dustin said.

They spent the rest of the evening talking, with Mike continuously massaging and caressing El to keep her calm and her thoughts away from Stacy.

Not that he would mind watching that particular cat fight.

* * *

"Great job, Jane." Coach Bayer told her, after Jane crossed the finish line. "That's just two seconds away from the school record! And a lot better than the yesterday's tryout. Whatever you did between then and now, do it again."

"Thanks." El panted hard. "Does that mean I'm in?"

"Oh, you're so in." Bayer laughed. "I'll have you run in every track and field race and if you get your sprint time up a bit more, you're even in the sprint team."

"Great!" El did a little jump, still trying to catch her breath.

"Listen Jane, your boyfriend is Mike Wheeler, right?" the coach asked.

"Yes." El nodded. "Why?"

"Could you talk to him?" Bayer implored her. "I tried getting him on the swim team after I heard about how much he swims but he turned me down."

"I can try." El shrugged and turned towards the stance, seeing Mike and the boys sitting on the stands, looking at her. "MIKE!"

"Yeah?" Mike shouted back.

"COME DOWN HERE!" she waved him forward, Mike getting up and walking to the stairs.

"I thought of you talking to him during the day but this is okay." Bayer laughed.

"What's going on?" Mike asked when he had reached them.

"He asked me to ask you why you refuse to join the swim team." El pointed at the man.

"Because, coach, as I told you before, I don't swim fast, I only swim a lot." Mike told him and her. "I'm not remotely fast enough to swim competitively."

"Did you really swim for three hours once?"

"Yes, though I didn't know it was that long when I did it." Mike shrugged. "I simply swim until I feel tired and then I start counting the laps to see how many I can do extra."

"Still, there's a meet next month in Monticello and one of the swimming events is a marathon swim in Lake Shafer."

"And how much distance is that?" El asked.

"It's open." Bayer explained. "They put up to buoys, anchor a few boats between them to simulate a barrier and the contestants simply swim rounds until they give up."

"Isn't that dangerous?" Mike wanted to know.

"There's always a boat accompanying each swimmer." the coach told them. "Every school only nominates one swimmer for that event anyway."

"Wouldn't the boat's motors impede the swimmers behind them?" Mike wondered.

"No boat is behind the swimmers, only next to them, about ten feet away."

"I don't know." Mike sighed.

"Mike, if you accept, you can come to the meet and we can share a room." El giggled.

"Ah, no, you wouldn't." the coach laughed. "School policy."

"Aw." El moped.

"Still, think about it." Bayer told him. "Because if you what you really can swim for three hours, then that would be a guaranteed gold medal for our school."

"Alright, I'll think about it." Mike assented.

"Coach, are we done for today?" El asked.

"Yes, you can leave now if you want." Bayer nodded. "First training is next Monday after school."

"Bye, coach." El waved and took Mike's hand, leading him away towards the changing rooms. "Mike, you need to come with us. Remember, if you don't, we both could end up on the floor with bad headaches."

"Crap, you're right." Mike realized. "Okay, I'll join the swim team for that event. But we really should try to get out of this predicament, there won't always be all the different teams in the various events."

"You're right." El nodded, even though she enjoyed the perks of being forced to stay close to Mike as much as possible. "Oh, by the way, the coach said that we need to have more sex."

"Eh, what?" Mike looked at her confused. "Why would he say something like that to you?"

"Well, he didn't exactly say THAT." El giggled. "He said that my time has improved greatly compared to yesterday and that I should do more of whatever I did between the two tryouts."

"I see." Mike smiled, remembering their wild romp in the basement the evening before, which had been fueled in part by Mike's determination to give her a good time after the disappointment of the tryouts before.

"Can't wait to tell my dad." El giggled.

"Jesus, don't tell him that!" Mike gasped. "He's grumpy enough already and every time he sees us coming out of your room, he glares at me."

"I meant telling him that I got onto the team." El laughed. "But come on, he doesn't know that we have sex in my room, does he?"

"He knows." Mike nodded. "A few days ago, when we came out of your room and your hair was disheveled, I thought he was gonna shoot me where I stood."

"He's a big teddy bear." she grinned. "And don't worry, I wouldn't let him shoot you."

"He's the police chief, he can make me disappear in so many different ways." Mike shuddered.

"Stop complaining and come take a shower with me." she winked and dragged him towards the women's changing rooms.

"Whoa, El, I can't go in there." Mike stopped her with his larger size.

"Oh come on, don't be a baby." El rolled her eyes and opened the door, revealing several more girls in various stages of undress who began screaming when they saw Mike.

"See, I told you." he groaned and quickly took a large step to the left to get out of the line of sight.

"Alright, I understand what you're saying." El chuckled and pressed a kiss on his lips. "See you later, after I pulled those tight gym shorts down and taken a shower, completely naked."

"You're so mean." Mike glared at her, trying to prevent his erection by not picturing what El just described.

"You love it." she grinned and stepped into the room. "Sorry girls, that was my fault and..."

Any more words were silenced by the door shutting and Mike walked off the field, back up the stands where his friends sat. They watched as more girls exited the changing area, wearing miniskirts and carrying pompoms, indicating either cheerleader tryouts or practice. Mike leaned back and watched a bit, impressed by the agility of some of them and how high they could throw their smaller colleagues.

"Already ogling other girls, are we?" El's voice surprised him.

"Nah, never." Mike played innocent.

"YOU GO GIRL!" Dustin shouted.

"Is that Jennifer?" El asked, seeing the blond on the field.

"Yep." Dustin said proudly. "Look at my girl. Look how... bendy she is."

"Dustin, Dustin." El laughed.

"Beginning to admire the physical appearance of her?" Mike winked.

"Beginning?" Dustin smirked at him. "I've admired her looks even before we got together. It's just that we don't jump into bed yet like you guys did or Lumax."

"Lumax?" El looked at Dustin.

"Lucas and Max." Dustin shrugged. "Shorthand."

"So, what do you have for us then?" Mike chuckled. "Jike? Mane?

"Mileven of course." Dustin looked at Mike.

"That's..." El started but thought about it. "Hey, that sounds really nice."

"I concur." Mike nodded and pressed his lips against El's. "Maybe we should call you El in school when others are around and when people ask, we can tell them the cover story with your middle name, so they're not wondering about the moniker."

"Yeah, we can do that." Dustin nodded.

"Where are Lucas and Max, by the way?" El asked, looking around. "Didn't Max say she wanted to come here too?"

"We were on our way, then Lucas said something to Max that Max apparently didn't quite like, given her facial expression and then she dragged him off towards Will's old house." Dustin told them.

"Ah, so they apparently did fix Will's old fort in the woods to use as a love shack." Mike laughed.

"Dustin, isn't Jennifer a bit young to be a cheerleader?" El asked, seeing his girlfriend work on the field.

"No, there are cheerleading groups where the members began with training as young as four years old." Dustin shook his head. "But I think our school gives out uniforms with differently colored parts to denote age."

"Why?" Mike asked.

"From what I heard, and I have no idea if true, they had to do that when football players began seducing those young girls." Dustin explained. "Also, and again, don't know if true, in another school, they had cheerleaders as young as twelve and a nineteen year old senior got one drunk and had sex with her."

"Why would a girl that's twelve years old be in high school as a cheerleader?" El wondered.

"There are combined schools that have students from all ages." Mike told her. "Like ours. We really just go to a different part of the building now."

"That's true." El had to admit. "Then again, I never went to that part of the school."

"Well, you're in this one now." he rubbed her back.

"I have to go." El looked at her watch. "Dad said he wanted me to move some stuff in the house."

"Getting your new bed today?" Mike grinned.

"Oh yeah." El rocked in joy. "I can't wait until we christen it."

"Ew, really?" Dustin made a sour face. "That's your only thought? About when to have sex in it?"

"What else is a bed good for?" El shrugged.

"Sleep?" Dustin smirked at her.

"Meh, I did that on leaves and grass when I hid in the forest, I even slept on a tree a few times." El waved him off. "But the thought of having sex on those... I doubt it would be pleasant."

"Unbelievable." Dustin shook his head. "Get out of here."

"By Dustin." El grinned and gave him a hug before leaving him alone.

"Want me to come with you to help?" Mike asked as they walked to their bikes, both unlocking the locks that had secured them to the rack.

"Wait a second." El stopped her bike after they had been riding for less than half a mile.

"What's wrong?" Mike asked, almost having slammed into her back because her sudden stop.

"Come on." she grinned and began moving again, this time into a different direction.

"Where are we going?" he wanted to know.

"I wanna know how they fixed Will's old fort." El said.

"Uh, honey, they might still be there." Mike cautioned.

"If they are, we can leave again." El shrugged. "But I doubt it, Dustin said they went there over an hour ago and I know for a fact that Lucas doesn't have the endurance to do it that long."

"How?" Mike wondered.

"Me an Max have talked and compared you and him." El told him bluntly.

"For real?" Mike groaned.

"Calm down, my love." El grinned. "I can assure you that Max is very jealous because Lucas doesn't measure up to you."

"Uh... okay." Mike said, both horrified that El and Max would talk about this but also proud of himself. "Still, it's weird to hear that you do that."

"Oh, come on, have you and Lucas never compared me and Max?" El scoffed.

"No, actually." Mike shook his head. "Not that Max would beat you in any category in my eyes."

"Flatterer." El grinned. "She does have bigger breasts than me."

"Which I really don't care about." Mike told her and she knew he was telling the truth given how he had, in some very memorable nights, essentially worshiped every part of her body.

It took them almost twenty minutes to reach the area in the woods behind the old Byers home, using a small detour as to not go there directly in case their friends were in fact still there. They leaned their bikes against a tree, Mike locking them together and they went the rest of the way on foot, the ground hard from the heat and lack of precipitation.

"There it is." El said quietly, seeing the ramshackle fort in the small clearing, though a large tree branch was in the process of growing above it.

"Looks better." Mike had to admit, seeing clean, hole-less foil covering the openings, blankets underneath them to block the sight from the clearing.

"Didn't it have a lot of holes in it as well?" El wondered, seeing fresh wood covering parts of the structure.

"Wow, they really went all out." Mike was impressed.

"Lets get closer." El said. "I wanna see how they reworked the inside."

"What if they're still in there?" Mike asked.

"Wasn't there a small window on the side?" El looked at him and got up. "Come on."

"Did you hear that?" Mike whispered after they had walked around the structure, keeping away from the entrance.

"Yes, like a grunting." El nodded,

"I said, tongue out!" they could hear Max's voice.

"Please, I can't do anymore." Lucas's pleading followed it.

"What the hell is she doing to him?" Mike whispered.

"Come on, you said you wanted to beat Mike in at least one thing." Max said as Mike and El got to the point where they could see the other two properly.

"Oh, poor Lucas." El chuckled quietly, seeing him on his back with naked Max's crotch hovering over his head.

"But my tongue is tired and you haven't let me come yet." Lucas complained.

"Shut up, stick out your tongue and shove it into my pussy!" Max ordered and pushed herself down, muffling any reply Lucas could have given.

"We should leave." Mike whispered to El and she nodded, though it made her quite aroused seeing and especially hearing this, her mind filling with the images of herself with Mike doing similar things.

"Right." El agreed, given that she still had to get home to get her new bed into the house. "I really want to do what they're doing."

"We already did that." Mike looked at her confused.

"I wanna do it now." she whined. "Stupid new bed."

"Well, if we hadn't come here, we wouldn't be this horny." Mike chuckled. "Though I really hope Max and Lucas don't find out about us watching them."

"Why, are you afraid of Lucas?" El grinned as Mike unlocked their bikes again.

"No, of Max." Mike chuckled. "She can be very scary."

"Don't worry, I'd protect you." she giggled.

"Okay, now we are Lucy and Lance." Mike laughed. "The little woman protects the big man."

"Little woman?" she glared at him with a smile.

"Well, you are just reaching my shoulders." Mike shrugged innocently. "And I know, you could throw me across a room."

"And don't you forget it." she poked out her tongue and accelerated, turning her head to shout. "Race you to my house. First to get there gets to be on top!"

"Either way, I win." he muttered and accelerated too, though acting as if he had trouble keeping up.

* * *

**Okay, done with this one. Sorry again for the long delay but work and an infrequent lack of inspiration can be a pretty big hindrance.**

**Review please :)**


	29. Chapter 29

**I apologize again for the long delays but I can only write when inspiration strikes. And these days, it only seems to strike for one of my other stories :(**

**Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I write for my own pleasure and that of the readers.**

* * *

"Okay, students, this is the last day." coach Bayer proclaimed during the after-breakfast meeting. "There will be two more events today, the marathon swim in an hour and the five mile track and field race."

"Coach, you said that the swim was open ended, what if it takes ten hours?" Daryl, one of Mike and El's classmates asked.

"Daryl, while I have faith in Mike that he will bring us the gold medal, I doubt even he would be able to swim for five hours, let alone ten."

"Not a chance." Mike shook his head.

"Coach, why didn't you nominate me for the swim?" Jason, who was supposed to do the marathon, asked. "I don't think Wheeler will be able to do it."

"Because Mike can swim for several hours." El stated, crossing her arms to show her displeasure with the guy.

"I bet you right here and now that he will be last." Jason was adamant.

"Okay." Mike nodded. "If I win, you will give me a dollar."

"A dollar?" Jason looked confused at Mike. "What kind of bet is that?"

"You didn't let me finish." Mike smiled devilishly. "You will give that dollar at our after meet party tomorrow and you will do it on all fours, with the dollar in your mouth."

"You're on, Wheeler." Jason laughed. "And if you don't win..."

"Jason, stop." the coach stopped him. "This is Mike's first tournament, so allow him some nerves."

"Alright, if he doesn't at least get a podium place...I get his girl for a day." Jason stated.

"Excuse me?" El shrieked.

"Jace, she's fifteen, you're eighteen." another girl from the team, Caroline, interjected.

"So?" Jason looked at her.

"You will undoubtedly want to sleep with her, and that would be a crime." Caroline pointed out. "Remember, her dad is the chief of police."

"Ah crap, you're right." Jason facepalmed. "Alright, if you don't get on the podium, you will do the same thing I'm supposed to do."

"Deal." Mike shook his hand. "But don't think for a second that I would have agreed to your conditions in regards to her. Coach, was there something else? Otherwise, I'll get changed and prepare."

"Just wanna say good luck." Bayer told him. "Henry will be in the boat, staying with you at all times. If you think you can't go on, simply stop swimming."

"Okay." Mike nodded and left the group, El staying put to listen to the coach's further instructions.

"Now, the track and field race will be at one, so I urge anyone taking part to eat light." Bayer continued. "Marianne has prepared some sandwiches, I advise you to eat those and not go to the mess hall."

"Will do." El nodded, the other race participants doing it as well.

"The race will be five laps around the course they prepared. Jane, whatever kind of meditation you do before a race to improve your time, I implore you to do it today too." Bayer said to her.

"Gladly." El giggled, the other girls looking at her questioningly.

"She does meditation?" Sheryl, yet another girl on the team, wondered.

"Sheryl, every athlete has a process to get ready for a race. Some talk to friends, others, like Mike, do stretching and whatever in private to get themselves into the mindset." Bayer told her. "I know that you do a couple of ten yard dashes a few minutes before a race."

"That's true." Sheryl conceded.

"Alright, dismissed." Bayer said. "For those who don't have to race today, I'd ask you to join us at the lake to cheer on Mike and later at the track to cheer for the girls. If he wins the marathon swim and one of our runners wins the track and field race, our school will take first place in the gold medal count."

The group dispersed and El began looking for her sweetie. She went to his bungalow, one he had completely for himself due to his late commitment to the meet, since he only agreed to enter when the other participants had already been assigned to their lodgings. She opened the door and found him sitting on the floor, his eyes closed and his breathing deep and regular.

"Hey." she smiled down at him. "How do you feel?"

"Better, now that you're here." he smiled back and pulled her down so she was sitting on his legs.

"We'll better not do this." she said and sat up again, relieving the pressure on his legs. "The last thing you want is your thighs hurting from me sitting on them.

"That's true." he conceded and smiled again when El straddled him, her legs holding her weight.

"So, you ready for this?" she asked, kissing his cheeks and the side of his lips.

"As ready as I can be." he nodded, kissing her back.

"How about I make you really relaxed?" she suggested and put her hands on her shirt, trying to pull it off of her.

"El, no." Mike stopped her.

"Why not?" she wanted to know, pouting.

"Because I have to swim in less than an hour." he told her.

"Well, don't you want to feel loose for that?" she grinned.

"Honey, it may work for you but if I climax, what I really want to do then is lie down, close my eyes and rest and certainly not run or swim." Mike chuckled.

"Alright, suit yourself." she grinned and got up, staying out of his reach. "Remember what we did the night my new bed arrived?"

"I think that night is seared into my brain until the day I die." Mike chuckled.

"If you win, we'll do the same thing again." she winked.

That night truly had been one to remember. Joyce had gone out to Mike's mom, Hopper had to work the night shift and Will had also left them alone to spend time with Dustin and Lucas, giving El and Mike the house to themselves. She had used it to full effect, doing everything they had learned to do since they became active, the finale being her on top of him, going faster than ever before until he had screamed out her name again and again.

Though the next day at school hadn't been as good, given how sore she had been.

"But as you said, it works for me, so once you're done and we had lunch, I expect you to... make me feel good before my race." she winked at him, sashaying her hips for him as she left him alone so he could continue his preparation.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Mike got up and began some stretching exercises, hearing some of his tendons crack as he pulled them apart. He wondered how the race would go, having never swam competitively but he felt confident that he could do at least two hours. He also didn't know how it would affect his performance that he wouldn't be swimming in a pool but a lake, where there was no turning around like he had to do when doing laps and also a current.

His watch beeped, giving him the message that he should get going. He walked towards the lake where his team waited, coach Bayer giving him a few last minute encouragement, though the kiss and whisper from El did a lot more for him to get fired up. He stepped into the boat and waited for the other swimmers to get into it, the conductor bringing the group to the central platform from where they'd start.

The various boats that accompanied the swimmers were coming as well, waiting outside the buoy line that the organizers have placed in the water. On a call from the woman holding the starting pistol, the swimmers took off their clothes, then put on their caps and goggles before getting onto the retractable arm from where they would jump into the water, Mike and several others kneeling down to pour water over their bodies to get used to its temperature.

"Alright, to recap." one of the organizers got their attention. "This is not a speed race. It's a stamina and distance race for you to swim for as long as you can. We have a four hour cutoff, so at noon, we're ending the race and just in case anyone is still in the water, the will use the number of laps as the metric to determine the winner. Any questions?"

"Yes." someone raised his arm. "So what if I, for example, have lapped someone five times and then stop and that person swims for another three laps before giving up himself?"

"If that happens, you will be higher ranked than that person, since you have done more laps and therefore more distance." the organizer said. "But frankly, nobody has ever done that because the faster you swim, the more tired you get. Any more questions?"

"No." the boy said, others also shaking their heads.

"Then lets get going!" the man said loudly and stepped back.

"Ready!" the starter woman called, Mike going into the start position, bending over and putting his fingers to the floor, one of the three swimmers that did it.

"GO MIKE!" he heard the almost inaudible shout his girlfriend from the lake shore.

"Set!" the woman called, Mike's heart rate spiking up.

"GO MIKE!" he heard the entire team shout, this time more audible.

When the pistol shot rang out, Mike jumped, hitting the water at the perfect angle and moving his legs like a dolphin to get some distance while under water. He resurfaced and began his crawl, doing what he always did in the pool, not bothering to go faster than he was used to. From what he was able to discern, he was pretty much at the end of the field, some others going like they had been stung by a bee. The arm they had jumped off of retracted, creating an oval course for the swimmers to swim in.

Mike kept swimming, doing what he was used to, moving his arms and only using his legs every five arm rotations to conserve energy. He lost track of time, simply concentrating on his arms and legs, occasionally noticing that the first swimmers started to leave the water, most of them lying on the platform and trying to catch their breath.

Mike noticed swimmers going past him more than once, knowing he was being lapped but he didn't care. As more and more swimmers left the water, he felt confident that he was going to place high and the image of El moving on top of him kept him going steadily instead of him making the mistake of speeding up.

He continued on and on, more and more swimmers leaving the water and some even throwing up from the exertion. Two swimmers even had to be rescued by their accompanying boat, having swam so much that they were unable to even get back to the platform. Mike shut that out, concentrating on his own laps and at some point, two and a half hours into the swim, he heard the assistant coach in his accompanying boat shouting through a bullhorn that he was the last swimmer in the water but had to do another eight laps to be on top when it came to distance.

Mike kept swimming, shutting out the calls of the coach in the boat who was counting down the laps. When he had finished the ninth lap, Mike was the winner, the team on the shore screaming their approval and the coach in the boat calling to him that he could stop now if he wanted. But Mike felt that he could keep going, maybe even create a record of some sort and kept going, his arms rotating and his legs kicking out.

Suddenly, after several more laps, he felt all the strength leaving him and he stopped moving, feeling himself sink into the water. The adrenaline surge his body experienced in the moment of drowning shocked him awake and he resurfaced, taking a deep breath and seeing his team boat coming close fast. Mike held up his hand to show he was okay and leaned back into the water, giving himself a push with his arms and floating towards the platform where several sets of hands grabbed him once he was close enough to pull him out.

Mike lay flat on his back, trying to catch his breath. He took off his goggles and saw the organizer shouting excitedly at him, but he could only hear the rush of his blood going through his body. Henry, his coach, came to the platform, propping him up and turning his head so the water would come out of his ears. Suddenly, outside sounds rushed back to his eardrums and he heard the applause of the other swimmers.

"That was amazing, Mike!" Henry shouted.

"Congratulations, Mister Wheeler." the organizer came by and shook his hand. "You set a new meet record for this event. Three hours, twenty-eight minutes and fourteen seconds of continuous swimming. You swam an astonishing seven point nine miles."

"Really?" Mike gasped, never having expected that number.

"Can you stand up?" Henry asked.

"Maybe." Mike shrugged and let himself be pulled to his feet, standing on shaky legs. "Jesus, I've never felt so weak."

"You did amazing!" Henry gushed. "Conrad will be so happy."

"I will be once we're back on dry land." Mike chuckled. "I need some food."

"Come on." Henry said and led him to the boat, the other swimmers stepping into their various team boats as well, most giving Mike a thumbs up or other forms of congratulations as they did.

Mike sat down on one of the boards and let Henry steer the boat towards the shore. He shook his legs as much as was possible while sitting, trying to get the soreness out of his thighs. He knew he would have to do a lot of stretching to avoid the delayed muscle soreness that usually came the next morning, which sometimes had rendered him almost impossible to move at all.

"That was great!" Bayer whooped and hugged Mike after he stepped off the boat.

"You were so amazing!" El hugged him hard after the coach had let him go. "I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you." Mike said a bit embarrassed as the rest of the team congratulated him as well. "When is lunch? I feel like I could eat a horse."

"Lunch is in fifteen minutes." Bayer told him. "Plenty of time for you to shower and catch your breath."

Mike nodded and sat down on a bench as the team dispersed, most going to the area where lunch would be served. He took several deep breaths, feeling the burning in his lungs recede and groaned as the adrenaline surge ebbed away, his body feeling the effects of what he had done. For the first time, he realized how much the turns in the pool were saving him energy, when he did the roll under water and pushed himself away from the wall. In the lake, there was no turns, there was only swimming along the line around the platform.

"Do you even need a shower?" El asked. "You were in fresh water all the time."

"Well, in a few minutes at most, I will start to sweat from the exertion." he nodded. "So a shower is a good idea."

"I'll wait for you." she smiled and dropped a kiss on his cheek, helping him up to lead him to his bungalow where he get some soap and his towel.

"No, you should go to lunch. That way, you have the most time possible to digest it before your race starts." Mike told her. "I'll come by once I'm done."

"Okay." El conceded. "I'll keep a seat open for you next to me."

"Thanks." he smiled and kissed her on the mouth before heading into his bungalow while El went the other way.

He grabbed his shower stuff and walked over the field to the building where they were located. He stepped into one of the rooms and undressed, stepping into the stall and letting the water wash away his exhaustion. He still couldn't quite believe that he won the race, with a record no less. He knew that others saw his swimming as exorbitant, something that nobody else in his school has even come close to copy but he had thought that the other students, who had probably trained for this, would have easily beaten him.

After drying off and getting dressed, he returned his stuff to his bungalow and headed out to the mess area. He saw his team sitting at a long table, El waving and smiling widely as she pointed to the empty space next to her, right at the end of the table where he could stretch his legs. He went to the food counter and looked at the available lunches, choosing pasta with a large piece of pork and dark sauce.

"I'm so jealous." Sheryl whined when she saw Mike's choice.

"What?" he asked, putting the first piece of meat into his mouth.

"You can eat that." she said and pointed to her own food, skinless chicken, rice and vegetables, all light food, while others were eating the prepared sandwhiches. "We have to make due with this."

"It's not that bad." El pointed out. "Though I do feel like my taste buds have fallen asleep."

"Yeah, would it have killed them to add some seasoning?" Tracy complained.

"Jesus, Mike." Sheryl said when she saw how much food Mike had already consumed. "Take your time."

"Why?" Mike mumbled, sucking more pasta into his mouth. "I'm hungry."

"Seriously Jane, where is Mike putting all that." Tracy gasped.

"Girls, Mike just expended a huge amount of energy." coach Bayer told them. "And unlike during a marathon or a bicycle race, he couldn't eat something while doing it."

"Coach?" Mike got the man's attention. "Do the boys and the girls race at the same time?"

"Yes." Bayer nodded. "There are two separate tracks, they are signposted. The boys are running a bit more complicated and longer route."

"I see." Mike nodded.

"Alright, girls, race starts in forty-five minutes, you should get ready." Bayer proclaimed after a few more minutes, the contestants getting up.

"I'll be waiting in your bungalow." El whispered into Mike's ear. "Don't make me wait too long."

Mike quickly finished his food and brought the plate back to the counter before heading back to his bungalow. He looked around to see if someone was watching but the few teammates he could see where engrossed in their own preparations. Most were stretching and doing short runs while Sheryl was doing her ten yard dashes.

"El?" he spoke into the apparently empty room when he stepped into the dark bungalow, the lights off.

"Boo!" she grabbed him from behind, putting her arms around his midriff and leaning her head against his back.

"Oooh, I'm scared." he chuckled.

"Hey, when I say boo, you have to be afraid." she moped.

"Iiiih." he gave a mocking, high-pitched squeal.

"That's better." she grinned.

"You sure about this?" he asked, turning around to face her. "It could weaken you for the race. Whenever we did it before other races, you at least had a night to sleep in-between."

"Yes." El nodded and turned around to have her back to him before bending forward over the table while dropping her running shorts and underwear. "Because this time it won't be me who will be doing all the work."

"I see." he grinned, feeling heat going down into his groin area, the animalistic part of his brain taking over.

"Don't make me wait too long." she sighed when he ran one hand over her center, using his other hand to push his sweatpants and shorts down.

"As you wish." he smiled and lined himself up before pushing in, feeling barely any resistance.

"Oh yeah, that's what I'm talking about." El moaned loudly, grabbing the edge of the table. "Give it to me!"

He tried to do what she demanded, placing his hands on her hips and holding her while he thrust forward. El moaned, keeping her head down and pushing her mouth against her arm to muffle her louder groans while Mike looked through the windows a few times to see if someone was coming close to the bungalow, thinking that he should have had closed the curtains or at least two of them.

His desire to make her feel good, combined with the time constrains they had, made him grab her arms, using those as leverage to pound her even harder. El began to squeal, the loss of her arms to muffle her sounds forcing her to try to not scream out as her eyes rolled back into her skull from the pleasure of this position.

"Mike!" she yelled, giving him all the information he needed to hear.

Increasing his speed, he waited for her to climax, pushing through as she shook until she had calmed down. El stood up with him still inside her and leaned her head back so he could kiss her, his hand running over her covered breasts while he did small thrusts, waiting for her to bend forward again if she wanted him to continue.

El was cognizant of the time though and while she wasn't against continuing this, she decided to end it right here. She pushed back against him, Mike getting the message to pull out and she turned around to get to her knees, taking him into his mouth and sucking hard while bobbing her head forward and back. Mike groaned, his hand in her hair while El blew him.

"I'm close!" he warned her and El redoubled her efforts.

When she felt the telltale twitch, she released him and held her hand in front of his penis, catching his spill to avoid any of it getting on her shirt. Once he was done, she went to the sink, cleaning her hands while Mike collapsed backwards on the bed he was using, a satisfied smile on his face. El pulled up her underwear and shorts, seeing Mike on his bed.

"Now I see why you said you'd rather fall asleep than do something physical." she giggled and climbed on top of him, forestalling any reply of his with a deep kiss. "But don't you dare fall asleep now, I expect you to be at the track, cheering."

"I'll be there." he nodded as she got up again so he could put his pants on again. "How do you feel?"

"Amazing." she giggled. "Ready to race."

"How is that possible." he chuckled.

"Meh, we have seen stranger things." she shrugged. "Now come on, the race starts in ten minutes."

He got up and they left the bungalow, walking to the track area where their teammates were still doing their warm-up routines. El joined them, stretching her leg muscles and tendons, using Mike as a bar and pushing against his frame. When the call came, the team walked to the starting line, the boys and girls taking part in it lining up with the students from the other schools.

The starter called out the countdown and then shot the pistol into the air, letting the horde run. Since there were almost a hundred students running, the start was more than a little chaotic as they all tried to sort themselves out. It took almost a quarter mile before there was any order in it but soon enough, the runners had their rhythm down.

When they reached the intersection, the boys took the left while the girls took the right for the shorter track. El stayed in the position she was in, keeping several bodies in front of her to avoid the headwinds and save energy. Mike's treatment had worked wonders, she felt loose and able to run faster if needed but for the first two laps, she stayed where she was, giving some of her competitors the impression that she was struggling to keep up.

When the third lap started, the field began to stretch out, some of the students feeling the burn of the exertion. El stayed behind the front runners, watching them and always acting as if she had a hard time keeping up whenever she saw one of them turning around to look. In turn four, the girls before her increased their pace, another two falling off while El increased her speed as well, keeping up with the three girls who were all from the local school's team and alternated the lead.

When they passed the finish line, a bell rang out, indicating that the last lap had started. One of the three girls dropped off, her stamina spent while the other two increased their pace even more. El smiled to herself as she matched their speed, keeping a few feet behind them to still give the impression that she had to struggle to stay at their heels. The two kept alternating the lead but El knew that at some point, one of them would go for a final sprint, since she couldn't imagine that their coach had determined who should win.

When only half a mile was left, El finally made her move. She stepped out of their shadow and passed them, setting a brutal pace as the other two girls cursed when El went in front. She wasn't satisfied with that and expanded her lead, opening up a large gap between them. When she took the last turn to get on the home stretch, she looked to her right and saw the two girls trying to close the gap with little success and another look forward showed her the man she loved, shouting as loud as he could to encourage her.

Two hundred yards before the finish, El increased her speed once more, now almost sprinting as she closed the distance to the finish line, an actual line someone had put up for her to run through. She did exactly that, the line snapping as she put pressure on it and once over the line, she collapsed to her knees, truly spent from the race.

A minute later, the two girls she had passed came across the finish line, both dropping to the ground and trying to catch their breaths as El sat up, Mike coming up to her to hug her and give her a kiss on the cheek, considerate enough to know not to block her mouth right now. He helped her up, half-carrying her to the side where the coach and the other students from their team congratulated her.

The boys race was one by a student from the hosting school, the present townsfolk cheering loudly for him. Mike and El's teammates reached the finish line in the next twenty minutes, all completely exhausted from the ordeal. El couldn't stop a tear of joy from falling, the feeling of all her efforts being rewarded overwhelming as she leaned against her boyfriend, slowly getting her heart rate under control.

"Jane, that was outstanding." Bayer whooped and hugged her too. "That put us in the lead in the medal ranking."

"All because... of Mike." El panted.

"True, if he hadn't agreed to come, we might have not won the marathon swim." the coach admitted, even though El meant it differently, knowing that without Mike here, she might have been incapacitated with terrible headaches.

"Alright, boys and girls, you need to do some stretching now to avoid sore muscles tomorrow." Bayer ordered and the team began with their exercises, the students from the other teams doing the same.

Mike helped El with some of the exercises, holding her arms while she pushed her upper body forward or acting as a trunk for her to put one leg on to stretch it. After thirty minutes of that, the team dispersed to get to the showers, all grabbing their shower gear and walking over the grass to the building.

Boys and girls separated to their various showers and El undressed, her upbringing in the lab having given her little sense of shame when it came to taking off her clothes. She remembered the night Mike and the boys had found her in the woods and brought her to his house and how he had given her some dry clothes.

She had stood up and had been about to pull off the oversized shirt Benny had given her when the boys had almost gone into a panic, Lucas and Dustin turning around and Mike grabbing her hands to stop her. For her, it had been normal to take her clothes off in front of others, having been raised that way and Mike's insistence of her changing in his bathroom had been a new thing for her.

Since then, she had learned a lot about self-consciousness and that taking off her clothes in front of others was something she shouldn't do since it could even be dangerous, given who was in front of her. Of course, she had absolutely no problem doing it for Mike and in this case, all the others in the room were girls like her so while some of them tried to take off their underwear and bras while being wrapped in a towel and others turned around to show their backsides, El had no such issues, simply removing her garments and stepping into the shower stall.

She did a quick shower, not wanting to waste too much time and was the first being done. When the second girl finished her shower, El was already dressed in fresh clothes again, leaving the shower room and bringing her stuff back to her bungalow, stuffing it into her bag before leaving again to look for Mike, who was sitting on a bench in the center of the area, enjoying the warm weather.

"There you are." she grinned, dropping a kiss on his lips before sitting down in his lap, his arms wrapping around her stomach. "Ready for the medal ceremony?"

"Ceremony?" he asked confused. "How much will there be?"

"I doubt they'll just hand us the medals and let us go home." she chuckled.

"Ugh." he harrumphed.

Over the next few minutes, the various teams finished showering and gathered in the central area. Half an hour later, the organizers called them up and the groups moved to a platform, where a rostrum was placed on. The various medal winners for the respective events walked onto the platform, standing behind the rostrum and the organizers began calling out their names, the students stepping onto their respective step and receiving their medal.

The cheering was loudest from whatever school the students came from while the others would only applaud normally. Towards the end, it was time for the swimmers, and the last event being awarded was the marathon swim. Mike stopped behind the rostrum, standing in the middle and waited for his name to be called.

"And the winner of the marathon swim, with a record time of three hours, twenty-eight minutes and fourteen seconds and a seven point nine four miles distance, Mike Wheeler of Hawkins High!" the announcer shouted into his microphone.

Mike stepped onto the rostrum, towering over the second and first place not only because his position was higher but also due to his height. He bent forward, almost having to double over, to let the principal of the hosting school put the medal around his neck and hand him the certificate of record.

Mike stepped off the rostrum and walked back to his team, giving El a kiss and hug. Next and last event class was running, the announcers proclaiming the winners of the various races, the one hundred meter spring also won by a Hawkins student. When it came time for her, El stepped behind the rostrum, grinning widely at Mike while the two students to her left and right tried not to look too disappointed at having been duped by El.

"And the winner of the five mile race, Jane Hopper!" the announcer shouted her name and El stepped on the rostrum, lifting her arm in joy and bowing down too to get her medal put around her neck.

Once she was down, the announcer called up coach Bayer to receive the certificate for the best medal ranking, the coach shaking everyone's hand on stage before returning to the group. The meet now over, the groups began to disperse, everyone walking to the staging area where the various buses were waiting for the students to get onto.

Mike got onto the bus last and sat down on one of the seats at the window, turning his body so his legs could hang into the aisle. El sat down on his lap again and leaned into his chest, Mike once again wrapping his arms around her midriff. They stayed like that for the entire drive, Mike's right thigh completely numb once they were back but for him, just feeling her body against his was totally worth it. After the bus had stopped at the school, the children piled out, the parking lot full of cars with parents waiting.

"So?" Jim asked as Mike and El approached him and Mike's parents.

"I won!" El shouted and pulled her medal out of her shirt.

"Congratulations, girl!" Jim smiled, pulling her in for a hug.

"What about you, Mike?" Karen asked.

"I won too!" Mike grinned, showing his gold medal.

"That's great, son!" Ted said and gave Mike a slap on the back.

"It was the hardest thing I've ever done so far." Mike said. "I swam almost eight miles."

"Jesus, kid!" Hopper gasped. "You really do eat batteries, don't you."

"Ha ha, chief." Mike rolled his eyes.

"Come on girl, lets go home, Joyce made a victory cake." Jim told her.

"What if I hadn't won?" El asked.

"Then it would have been a participation cake." Jim shrugged. "She just would have left the whipped cream out."

"Can Mike come too?" El asked excitedly.

"Of course." Jim nodded. "Nancy and Holly are already at our house anyway. After cake, we're having a barbecue."

"Great!" El giggled and grabbed Mike's hand.

"At least let his parents drive him." Hopper chuckled.

"Jane, we're going to our house first to put his used clothes into the hamper." Karen told her.

"See you in a few minutes." Mike said to El and gave her a kiss.

"Don't take too long or I'll come and get you." El waved at him as he got into the backseat of his parent's car.

* * *

**Alright, chapter over at this point. I do hope that I don't lose the inspiration again.**

**Review please :)**


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